Inside Trail Side Post Edition No. 005: Old Rag Mountain
Every Trail Side Post begins with something I’ve noticed, experienced, photographed, sketched, or collected while spending time outside. Sometimes it starts with something small, like a mushroom or wildflower. This month, it started with an entire mountain.
Trail Side Post Edition No. 005 is inspired by Old Rag Mountain, one of the most recognizable mountains in Shenandoah National Park and a place I’ve experienced both on the trail and through my artwork. The centerpiece of this edition began with a photograph I took of Old Rag, which I later used as the reference for a watercolor study.
That watercolor became the starting point for an entire little collection of paper goods, artwork, and trail-inspired surprises that will make their way into mailboxes this October.
The Old Rag Mountain Fine Art Print
At the center of Edition No. 005 is a 5 × 7 fine art print of my original Old Rag Mountain watercolor.
I’m still a beginner with watercolor, and this particular painting came together through experimentation rather than a carefully mapped-out process. I worked from my photograph, layered colors, played with the greens and darker mountain tones, and kept going until the painting felt finished.
I loved the result so much that I wanted it to become more than just a painting sitting in my studio. Turning it into the October Trail Side Post print gives it another life and lets me share a place that has become part of my own Blue Ridge story.
The print is sized to make it easy to frame, display on a small shelf or desk, or collect alongside previous Trail Side Post editions.
An Original Watercolor, Just for You
There is one part of Edition No. 005 that you won’t see in the photographs: every mailing also includes an original watercolor art card. These aren’t reproductions of the Old Rag painting. I paint small watercolor pieces throughout my creative practice, and each subscriber will receive an original selected from the pieces I have on hand when I prepare the mailing.
That also means everyone’s watercolor will be different.
I like having something genuinely one-of-a-kind tucked into each envelope. Trail Side Post is already meant to feel more personal than ordering a mass-produced art print, but the original watercolor takes that idea a little further. Somewhere in your envelope will be a tiny piece of artwork that exists only once, and I won’t know exactly which one you’re getting until I sit down to assemble your edition.
That surprise is half the fun.
An Illustrated October Calendar Card
The Old Rag watercolor also makes a second appearance as an illustrated October calendar card.
Rather than creating a completely unrelated piece, I wanted the calendar to feel like it belonged with the print. The mountain sits above the October calendar, turning something practical into another small piece of artwork for your desk, bulletin board, refrigerator, or journal.
It’s one of the things I love about building these editions as collections. The individual pieces don’t need to match perfectly, but they should feel as though they came home from the same adventure.
A Little Ticket to Old Rag
I also created a small Old Rag admission ticket for this edition, complete with the mountain, date, and the very important requirement of coffee.
It isn’t trying to be an actual park ticket. It’s simply a bit of illustrated ephemera inspired by the idea of collecting pieces from places you’ve been: ticket stubs, little scraps of paper, postcards, maps, pressed leaves, and all the random things that somehow end up tucked into journals and boxes because we can’t quite bring ourselves to throw them away.
That is becoming one of my favorite parts of Trail Side Post. I can make pieces that don’t necessarily need a practical purpose. Sometimes they can exist simply because they’re fun to find inside an envelope.
Your Surprise Trail Treasure
Every monthly edition also includes a Trail Treasure, and this is where I get to have even more fun.
Trail Treasures are small extras chosen to complement the spirit of the month’s collection. They might be stickers, tiny paper goods, nature-inspired pieces, or another little surprise that feels like it belongs in the envelope.
For Old Rag, you might spot a few clues in the photographs, but I’m not particularly interested in spoiling every detail before the envelopes go out. Part of subscribing to Trail Side Post is opening the mail and discovering what’s actually inside.
We could all use mail that isn’t a bill or somebody trying to sell us an extended warranty.
And a Field Note From Me
Finally, every Trail Side Post includes a personal Field Note.
The artwork may be what first catches your attention, but the Field Note is what connects the edition back to the studio, the trail, and the story behind what I’ve made. It’s my opportunity to add something personal before I send the collection on its way.
Together, these pieces make Edition No. 005 more than an Old Rag print. It’s a small paper collection inspired by a real place, a real hike, and artwork that began because I wanted to experiment with painting a mountain I’d experienced myself.
What’s Inside Edition No. 005
Every October mailing will include:
- One 5 × 7 fine art print featuring my Old Rag Mountain watercolor
- One original watercolor art card, individually selected so every subscriber receives something different
- One illustrated October calendar card featuring Old Rag Mountain
- One surprise Trail Treasure
- One personal Field Note
- Additional coordinating ephemera created especially for the Old Rag edition
The photographs give you a pretty good idea of what this month’s collection feels like, but they intentionally don’t show absolutely everything. I want there to still be something to discover when you open your envelope.
Collect Old Rag Mountain
Trail Side Post is my monthly snail-mail collection inspired by trails, mountains, plants, wildlife, and whatever else manages to follow me home from being outside. Each edition takes those experiences into the studio, turning them into artwork and paper goods you can actually hold on to.
Edition No. 005 takes us to Old Rag Mountain, from the original photograph and watercolor study to a collection designed around one of Virginia’s most memorable peaks.
Subscriptions for Edition No. 005 are open now. If you’d like Old Rag to be the next addition to your collection, you can join Trail Side Post while this edition is available.
