Here I am participating in Dubois County Art Guild’s Plein Air Event in May. I got third place in the quick draw-that painting is not shown because it sold and silly me forgot to take a photo first- and also third place in the Plein Air contest. I always wanted to paint the bright yellow fields in the spring before the farmers planted the them; however springs are busy, and I never got out until now.
This is another quick little plein air painting I did near Patoka Lake Dam Saturday afternoon. I exaggerated the orange of the cattail plants along the water’s edge to add a little interest to the otherwise very green scene. The reflections in the water changed before I even got a quick blocking in of the main shapes-dang the challenges of painting plein air. I had originally wanted/observed uneven bands of sky, distant hill, dark green reflection, and light sky reflection. In this finished sketch, however, the distant hill and dark green reflections are too close in size.
I walked a bit into some tall weeds to see if I could get a better vantage point, and a bird flew out of the weeds in front of me, making me jump and stifle a small squeak. I was already on alert to snakes that might like the swampy area. In the end, I set up my easel in the cut grass next to the taller weeds so I could concentrate on the light and not the snakes.
A pleasant little bonus to the day, we saw a bald eagle flying low over the flooded waters of reservoir while searching for a place to set up to paint. It did a couple of loops and dipping low to the water.
I set up on a windy, rainy afternoon in a shelter house at Celestine Community Club to paint this little plein air piece. Because of the wind, I was thankful for my Take It Easel; it stayed put, and after using a bungee cord wrapped around the edges of my board, my canvas didn’t budge despite the whipping wind.
I made a bit of a mistake with this composition. I really like that little sliver of grass and sky on the extreme right side. I think it adds little bit of air and space over there. However, once I slipped this board into a frame, the rabbet covered up that part of the painting, and I realized I had not accounted for that when planning the composition! Lesson learned- take into account that the edges of the painting disappear inside a frame, and this makes quite a difference on really small compositions.
I have spent the last two days nonstop painting for a plein air contest in Jasper. I set up yesterday morning at a boat ramp overlooking Patoka Lake. The sun was rising behind this grouping of trees, silhouetting them and sending a beautiful dark reflection onto the lake. I worked on a panel toned with medium grey which caused lovely little dashes of silver to poke through where the paint was thinner or absent. I also primed this panel myself using an acrylic gesso which turned out to be really absorbent and enjoyable to work on, almost a chalky feel to the surface.
I actually am lucky enough to drive past this view every morning on my way to work. It can be really magical depending on the fog rising off the lake or the colors of the sunrise. I am going to have to get back here more often to paint. You may see many more of this location.
It’s wonderful when the weather turns and it’s warm enough to enjoy being outside again. I painted this small painting in a creek near my house early this spring when the redbuds were blooming and the leaves of the undergrowth were just starting to pop. There’s an interesting contrast in the woods at that time between the achromatic trees, ground and rocks and the very highly saturated new growth of the buds and blooms. The greens of the woods for those couple of weeks becomes an almost fluorescent green.
After a couple of hours painting plein air, the painting still needed some work. I spent a couple of more sessions on it in the studio bringing it a bit more up to snuff.
The day we arrived in Lausanne, we were travel-worn and at the part in our trip when we just needed a lazy day. We walked a beautifully landscaped path along Lake Geneva and sat to sketch the vineyard-covered hills rising from the lake. That evening, we picniced in a park and went to sleep to the cheers coming from the streets because of the World Cup.
England’s Dartmoor National Park has large granite outcroppings called tors. Hay Tor is one of the most impressive and popular. There are small footholds and handholds to scramble to the top. After exploring the rock structure, I sat in the field in front of the tors to make a quick graphite sketch. Like everywhere we hiked in the park, we shared the space with the grazing sheep. 
We hiked through the moors to this stone circle last summer in Dartmoor National Park, England. While this stone circle only includes fairly small stones (3-4 feet high), we were completely alone in this vast open field. I sat on a tuft of grass to sketch the circle while Kerry wandered off to explore a creek.
This winter of polar vortexes, possibly a result of climate change, did lend itself to a couple outdoor snow studies. I started this particular one while my husband, nieces, and nephews went sled riding down the hill on the right. I was drawn to the crispness of light and how the reduction of hues in winter brings out the beauty and subtlety of the greys.
Another plein air painting on a hillside near my studio that my husband and I always joke is our own hobbit hill…
