Dawn at the Cabin

I've been waking so early - hours before sunrise, wishing the sun to arrive.  Normally by 3:00am, I know it's nearly dawn, only to find I've hours longer to wait.  So on this day, I hopped out of bed anyway and enjoyed a couple of mugs of hot tea with lemon as I leisurely readied for the day.  At the very first streaks of light, I got out there, picking the perfect spot to capture cabin, pond and woods as the warm dawn light washed over them.  Serenaded by crickets, frogs, and bucks crashing through woods, I finished this early painting immersed in the landscape.  What a beautiful way to start the day!  Painting number 3181 in 3181 days. 

Dawn in the Garden

Dawn in the Garden
Oil on panel, 12x9
purchase here

Saturday morning's quick paint was held at the Deanna Rose farm.  I have always headed over to the original part of the park, where my children loved to go.  Right next to the goats is this lovely garden, complete with white picket fence, trellis and arbor!  I am always drawn to it,  and I think I've painted here every year for the early morning quick paint.  This morning was very dark, with rain threatening, and when the light did break through, there was a beautiful illumination through the garden.  What a wonderful way to start the day!   My daughter also attended, and painted just a few feet from me.  It is her first quick paint ever!  What fun to have her with me - something we can share while she's home from college.  This is painting number 1248 in 1248 days.

Morning in the Vineyard

Morning in the Vineyard
Oil on canvas, 7x5

As I prime my panels, and prepare my frames for the upcoming plein air events, I am thinking back to those early mornings in the Augusta vineyards.  Arriving while still dark, and setting up my easel with an eye to the eastern horizon, I can almost smell the heady damp ground underfoot.  So much of the experience of actually standing in that spot seeps into the painting in front of me.  The smells, the feel of the wind in my hair and the softness of the spring soil all pour forth into such a painting.  Longing for the freedom of painting once again with abandon, this one makes 463 in as many days :)