I have been back out on location again this past week. I call it my great outdoor studio–which is also my greatest teacher! I find it amazing that I can visit the same local areas year after year and still view it with fresh eyes. Often stumbling upon new subjects or viewing familiar subjects in different angles. One day this week that exact fact occurred. I went to MacLellan’s Brook where an old farmstead used to exist. It is a location that I feel both safe and in sync with. I was very surprised to stumble upon beautiful rose bushes that must have been a part of the old homestead that once existed there. They were gorgeous in the bright morning light and dew. I painted a small 5×7 painting of them and only have a small bit of tweaking to do on it. I will post it when it is completed with touch ups. An added note : while I was painting a hawk or eagle soared overhead letting out a few screeches.
Yesterday I visited another familiar haunt I like to paint on a yearly basis. Once again, a familiar setting took on new perspectives. I did not paint a study as the lighting was not to my liking. Instead, I rose early the next morning and ventured back out to the same spot in Grant’s Lake. Awesome! The conditions were perfect, calmness,lighting, temperature–all except for the abundance of black flies! I set to work on a 9×12 painting study. An hour and half later I had a decent study, color notes and listed palette colors. I am looking forward to painting a large studio work from my new plein air study! I have posted a picture of my on location studio, my subject and the study I completed. I certainly got a good workout trudging through long grasses and brambles with all my gear!
