Thursday, June 18, 2015

A Day at Sterling St. Pk.

An afternoon at Sterling St. Pk. - Bob brought his bike and rode the trails while I spent an hour or so painting again (6x9 on oil paper). Again, mostly just putting paint on canvas for practice. It went ok until I was visited in the shelter by a mom and 3 kids - the kids were fine, curious but not unpleasant - the mom not so much. She just yelled at her girls nonstop. The kids mostly just tuned her out - I was wishing I had their skill!  But all in all a nice afternoon out.
I need to get out in the morning or evening for some better lighting conditions.


 And the beach - very peaceful that day.

Preparing for Plein Air

I post these as more of a Plein Air Journal entry to document my re-entry into plein air painting. This is a small oil study from the hedgerow across the street, just about a mile from that crooked river. I'm testing my supplies, easel, and set-up in anticipation of doing more work in different locations. I probably spent 45 min. to an hour on this. It's really gloppy up close but looks better from several feet back. When it dries I may scumble that back row of trees with a lighter color to push them back a bit. I'll try this scene again with less paint on the oil paper. It always pleases me and I'm so very thankful we don't have houses across the street. We get some beautiful sunrises sometimes.