Lavender Field

Oh, how I love the heady aroma of lavender - in full bloom!  So much of the lavender on Washington Island is at peak right now - and it is a sight to behold.  It has been 4 years since I've been here for the lavender bloom, and a few things have changed. Another farm that was just down the road is no longer in business, but the plants still grow in the fields, intended and vigorous.  They were so welcoming to me as an artist last time, opening their farm to us all.  The other farm has kicked it up a notch, bigger, with more offerings, and we joined them for a Tuesday Wine Night, which was lovely.  Again, I am inspired to plant my own lavender, just three rows that I could grow and harvest, and paint for all the years to come.  Painting number 3853 in 3853 days. 

Twilight Sunflowers

Whenever I come upon a field full of sunflowers, it absolutely takes my breath away.  Traveling the backroads of Missouri, these beauties were turning their heads toward the fading sun.  I had to paint it.  This is one that I did a small color study of on sight, to paint larger when I had the luxury of time. I rarely do this, but with so little light left I simply had no other option.  The result is a painting that sings of the twilight moments I spent on the roadside, capturing the fleeting beauty of sunflowers in bloom.  Painting number 3087 in 3087 days.  This one now showing at Music Art Love Gallery in Sainte Genevieve, Missouri. 

Wild Sunflowers

As I finish each morning's workout at the gym, I run a mile or two to center my thoughts and plan for the rest of my day.  In these beautiful days, I run outside - right by this glorious meadow!  The last few days I've watched as it is approaching peak bloom for the sunflowers, and today I jumped in with paint!   The flow and sweep of the wildflowers and tall grass are a perfect backdrop for these yellow blooms of sunshine!  There are several other views I would like to paint here - I hope I get the chance!  The next few days are scheduled pretty heavy and then I have family arriving in town.  These are the days we plein air painters love - beautiful light, warm days with gentle breezes, and a gorgeous landscape before me.  Who could ask for anything more?  Painting number 1703 in 1703 days.

oil on panel, 13x9
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Lavender Rows

Oh the beauty of a lavender field is a feast for the eyes and for the nose!  The fragrance surrounds me as the gentle breeze whispers through the blooms, and I whisper back with paint.  It is truly a joy to submerse myself in a place like this, and then to capture my experience in the moment with paint. This is what plein air is. A living and breathing thing, only to be shaped by the one holding the paintbrush.  Here, I capture the essence of the place in my journal, to commit to oils another day.  Painting number 1673 in 1673 days.

Milk Barn Forsythia

With each day,  the forsythia blooms open even more!   Their spring glory is so fleeting,  that I feel duty bound to capture them while I can!   I love their sunny yellow cheerfulness - and am already planning on new places to plant the new babes.  The dogs have gotten quite used to me painting in the pasture,  and are my constant companions.  I added a new color to my palette today - raw umber.  I rarely use it,  but have lately thought how perfect it would be for the dried grasses in the pasture.  I like it!   I'll see how much I use it before deciding if it is a keeper or not.  Painting number 1530 in 1530 days,  and what a gorgeous day it is!

Cattle in Ink

As I have proclaimed this my week of 100 cows (!), I have returned to my sketchbook with pen in hand.  The last 50 cows were painted in watercolor without drawing,  and they became very easy by the 50th.  I never thought drawing them would be harder!   I'm just not yet familiar enough with their forms,  to draw them with ease.  In fact,  if I'm not careful,  I slip right into drawing horses!!  I think I'd better draw the remaining 30, too - just so I can really get a handle on them!  This piece makes 1525 in 1525 days :)

Cattle in the Winter Field

Oh how I love to see cattle in a pasture!  It brings back so many childhood memories of grandma's farm, and of my great uncle Richard's farm, too!  We ran cattle for several years here, and I remember vividly having to chase them back over the fence with a broom in my hand!  These creatures are beautiful and gentle, and so peaceful to paint.  They graze slowly in the field, which is a big bonus when it comes to choosing animals to paint en plein air!  I wish my neighbors had a few of these in their pasture, then I could simply walk to the fence for a good pastoral view!  I simply must do more of these!  Painting number 1512 in 1512 days :)

Old Barn on Y Hwy

Another morning of drawing before I head to the gym, and another morning I get there late!  I just can't resist a beautiful scene, and the sun is not rising early enough for me to be on time!  On the flip side, I LOVE painting early!!  It revs me up and invigorates me before I ever reach the gym, keeping my head in the game once I get there!  There has lately been heavy equipment and activity around this barn, and with it's deteriorating condition, I'm afraid they are going to bring it down.  These little treasures are slices of Americana, and each one that slips from existence is forever gone.  With this in mind, I am getting this one down in ink and watercolor while I can.  Painting number 1486 in 1486 days  :)

Sunset through the Trees

Oil on panel, 6x6

The skies of January have simply been breathtaking!  Looking out past the west pasture, I begin this painting quickly.  There is so little time to capture a sunrise or sunset before all of the color disappears!   With this in mind, I start with the bold colors I don't want to lose first.  Using broad knife strokes to skim the surface of my board, I get the whole surface covered.  Since I'm in a hurry, I drop in the trees with the knife, instead of negatively painting them.  As the color fades from the sky, I tweek a few of those colors by dragging the knife lightly over the base layer of paint.  This one is thick and juicy, and my 1483rd painting in 1483 days :)

Sunset on the Snow

As I finished the painting yesterday at the milk barn, I turned to see this beautiful scene over my shoulder.  How could I resist?  The trick on this one was to lay in that gorgeous color around all those branches!   I prefer to paint the trees negatively, as it gives them a rougher, more realistic shape.  With so many branches, this means lots of little strokes of color to make up the mass of the sky plane.  The varied strokes also give an energy to that mass, as well as the pasture plane.  The sun sets so quickly that getting down the paint must also be fast, or the moment is lost.   I like the quick brushwork on this one, I think I'll leave it loose.  Painting number 1460 in 1460 days.

Oil on panel, 10x8
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Snow at the Milk Barn

Well, I had a little trouble with this one.  I started late, already in the golden hour.  I didn't load my palette, as I have been keeping it in the car, so I was out of the tiny bit of viridian, and black (which I use to mix greens). When it came to making a good, strong dark, all I had was ultramarine blue, permanent crimson, Indian yellow and white.  As you can probably guess, getting a strong shadow color out of this was a challenge!  Challenge aside, I do really like the color harmony achieved by using so few hues. As I finished this one up, the setting sun in the west was calling my name......!  Painting number 1459 in 1459 days :)

oil on panel, 10x8
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First Snow at the Milk Barn

The sun is shimmering on the snow this afternoon, and I have waited until the warmest time of this day to paint!  Mind you, that is only 17 degrees, but it beats the 1 degree I woke up to!   My grandmother used to milk her cows here every morning and night for many years, and now I paint here.  I love this place, and I've always loved this place, I wrote about it in my diary as a child.  I am using Williamsburg oils with this easel, and they are still smooth and creamy at 17 degrees.  I use no solvents, only safflower oil to clean my brushes, so this is am important fact for me.  I wonder how cold it can get before they start to show it!   love my Gamblins, but they really start to tack up under 25 degrees.  Who knew this would ever be important to me?  Sane artists don't paint in weather like this!  Painting number 1457 in 1457 days :)

Oil on panel, 7x5
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January Sky

The late afternoon sky was beautiful and begged to be painted.  In this painting, I have tried a new color - Sevris Blue by Williamsburg.  The color is rich and the pigment is strong, much like their Indian Yellow.  It bends towards the turquois, and is the middle sky color in this painting.  The Williamsburg paints are creamy and richly pigmented.  I have nine of them, and have yet to try two of them.  On the landscape I painted a few days ago, I used them exclusively. It is so fun trying out new supplies!  This painting makes 1454 in 1454 days  :)

Oil on panel, 7x5
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December Afternoon

I am christening my new Guerilla Painter thumb box easel that I got for Christmas from my oldest son! I love it!  Small, at 5x7, it is easy to hold in one hand while painting with the other! So cool!  Guess what my palette is? An Altoids tin! I just loaded it with my new sample Williamsburg paints, in ultramarine, permanent crimson and Indian yellow. These paints are rich and creamy, and a little challenging to work without my red oxide, but it totally works.  What's better than new supplies?  Another slice of pie?  Painting number 1446 on 1446 days :)

Oil on panel, 7x5
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Friday Night Lights in Fairfield

The Fairfield paintout is one of my very favorites!  This year, we had the unique opportunity to go out and paint their undefeated high school football team from the field! It was quite cold, but the rush of the crowd and fast pace of the game kept me moving!  I had to paint fast to get all this down during game time!  Each time the boys moved in front of me, I raced to get them painted!  As they moved up the field, I painted all else in my composition.  It was a wonderful experience and so much fun!!  This painting makes 1445 in 1445 days.  Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!!

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Sunflowers at Last Light

As the growing season winds down, there are a few things I simply need to get planted next year.   A few short rows of grapes, for a small vineyard with the western hill rising behind them.   A stand of sunflowers, with native perennial varieties as well as the large annuals.   And a small pumpkin patch.   These three things would offer me unlimited paintings, especially when positioned before the western hill, where the tall grasses and wildflowers run amuck.  With distant trees set at the horizon, it is the perfect stage for fabulous sunsets.   A farm like this should have all those things, and I am just the girl for the job!   Painting number 1362 in 1362 days.

Rainy Day Sunflower Field

Clouds Over the Pasture

Clouds Over the Pasture
Oil on panel, 7x5

After realizing how difficult running was after a *surprise* running class at he gym, I added running to my schedule.  Not much, just a mile run, four times a week.  Well, what I had forgotten from high school is that I love running and I really love that “runner’s high” that sets in and lasts for hours.  I am hooked!  So, by the time I came to my *new* easel this afternoon, euphoria abounded and I looked to the heavens for my muse.  I added a few extra paint tubes to my box, as well as business cards.  I am gradually adding the few things I will need when painting at the Stems event, which starts on Friday.  We’ll see how this new set up works out for events.  I have never wanted to carry a backpack, I am simply not a backpack kind of girl.  So, having a detachable tripod will be a challenge to carry, sans backpack - although I think I have the canvas case it came in.  Painting number 1231 in 1231 days, and I think I will actually have time to paint another today!

Skies of May

Skies of May
Oil on panel, 7x5

With rain moving in and out of the area, the sky has been a constant display of racing clouds.  Taking a little time to get those colors down, I am making the effort to really concentrate on the heavens for the next month or so!  I want to pop out at sunrise, sunset, and everything in between, to capture the skies in all their varied glory!  I find sunrise and sunset particularly challenging, so hopefully I can get to my paints during those times.  I am painting small, which I haven’t done for weeks!  At only 7x5, the colors and values are king, with little room for details.  Who was it that recently told me simple was best?  A wonderful exercise - and I have got the hill top view in all directions, so I am going to master these skies in no time!  Painting number 1225 in 1225 days.

Old Dirt Road

Old Dirt Road
Oil on masonite, 9x12
purchase here

I love coming over the top of a hill to see this magnificent view spreading out before me!  And to think, we almost didn't drive down this because it was a dirt road!  Taking 200n east off of Burnt Prairie blacktop, we parked on the side of the road to unload our gear.  I set my easel up in the middle of this road, and was able to get my whole sketch and half a block in done before the first truck came barreling down the road!  I moved back out after he had passed, only to have to shift again.  By that time, I had enough done to finish a bit closer to the ditch, setting up our new bright orange cones - a gift from the planners of this event!  With so much depth in this painting, I was more careful in the application of paint, letting each layer build before moving to the next.  I have wanted to paint a road for a long time, but really didn't want to capture asphalt.....so this wonderful dirt road was the perfect solution!  What sheer joy it has been to paint in perfect weather, and to find such captivating subject matter!  And the icing on the cake?  I won a fabulous $150 gift certificate in the door prize drawing tonight!  COuld life be any sweeter?  This painting makes 1010 in 1010 days :)