August Sky

My experience at the plein air event in Port Wing, earlier this month, was truly inspiring. Not only was it a great time of meeting a new group of talented artists, it really stretched my abilities – taught me the importance of packing well, using the proper tools to measure value and hue, putting the paint quickly on the paper, and knowing when to stop – preferably before the painting before you became a mess of gray!! This week’s painting, August Sky, is 8” x 10” on 300 lb. watercolor paper, was painted shortly after returning from the event and is one of the scenes taken by Paul of a storm coming across a field of newly baled hay. The contrast of the darkening skies with the yellow of the mustard and the deep greens of the woods made this a joy to paint.

Sorrel Horses

I’ve been wanting to try painting horses and especially liked the image of these two horses coming across a field. The image is from a photograph taken by Paul on one of our trips to Europe, and these two lovely horses seemed perfect for my first attempt. I’m attempting to paint in a more impressionistic (looser!) style, and this was a wonderful learning experience in creating light and shadows – not only in painting the background, but also in working to capture the delicacy of the horse’s frame balanced with their tremendously powerful muscle structure. This week’s painting, Sorrel Buddies, is 10” x 15” on 300 lb. watercolor paper, and reminds me of a sunny afternoon and the beautiful scenery in southern Belgium.

Yorkshire

One of my all-time favorite authors is James Herriot, DVM. In fact, I’ve got a collection of his hardcover books in my library and take the online versions with me on my Kindle! Through his books, he shared glimpses of his life as a country vet traipsing around the rolling hills and moors of Yorkshire County, England – from lambing times in freezing blizzards to walking his beloved dogs on warm, emerald-colored days. A masterful storyteller, he wove wonderful stories both of life with his family and of his many encounters with the people and their farm animals and pets.  It’s heartwarming reading!

This week’s painting, Heatherland, 10” x 15” on 300 lb. watercolor paper, reminds me of those wind-swept landscapes with sheep on the highlands and the heather in bloom.

2018 Port Wing Plein Air

We just returned late last night from the 9th Annual Port Wing Plein Air event. What an amazing four-day adventure! We drove up on Wednesday afternoon, took a 5-mile side trip to explore the incredible Oulu Glass Works at the Finnish village of Oulu, WI, and then checked into our itty-bitty cabin in the village campground. At 8 a.m. on Thursday morning, we met our artist friends, Doug Berg and Joyce Staley, and their friend, Kathy, at the orientation session – and we were off!! In addition to the 40 participating artists, this is truly a community-wide event. Several free-standing bright yellow easels with painting sets were located at key sites in the area and people of all ages were encouraged to just pick up a brush and paint! It started as a gray sky morning with a soft breeze, and I so enjoyed painting Fay Road Farm, 8” x 10” with the wonderful hay bales in the field. 

The sun came out in the afternoon, and I finished painting the White Birch Barn, 8”x 10” by about 6 p.m. on Thursday.  Paul is such a great partner in these endeavors – he runs back for forgotten items, patiently sits in his chair and reads, and monitors traffic while I’m painting – often perched on the side of a gravel road! That evening, we attended the Artists and Friends reception at the home of John Berton, event organizer.

It was a beautiful Friday morning, and I headed to the harbor to paint the Fish House-Marina, 8.5”x11” with the sounds of Lake Superior waves splashing behind us. It was a magical day and the time seemed to whoosh by. By the time I packed up my supplies at 5 p.m., the skies had turned gray and it was starting to drizzle. 

On Saturday, it was a rush to get the paintings framed and ready for judging in the early afternoon, followed by the Open House Art Show at the historic Town Hall. We missed the Sunday Art event because we got a call from neighbors that one of the beautiful big Red Maples in the front yard had fallen down in a storm on Saturday night. We headed home early to check on the damage, and amazingly, it had fallen in an open spot of the yard and not even damaged the nearby bluebird house. A hearty shout out of thanks to all who worked hard to make the Port Wing Plein Air a success! We are already planning to attend next year’s event.

O' Victoria!

A few weeks ago we got to spend two days on the Island of Victoria, off the shore from Vancouver, British Columbia, and I was totally captured by the beautiful Butchart Gardens. It was a perfect day for being in the gardens – a bit of cloud cover so you didn’t have that bright, washed-out look on the flowers and landscape, and the photos that Paul took turned out great! With 56 acres and 10 gardens to explore, I think I could have spent a full four days wandering around the grounds and getting inspirations for painting. One of the most beautiful views was from the main house down to the inlet to the sea. In Jenni Butchart’s day, it would have been a clear, panoramic view of the water and mountain in the distance. Today, you have to peek between the mature trees, but the view is still incredibly rewarding.

This week’s painting, The Cove, 10” x 15” on 300 lb. watercolor paper, features the spectacular scene viewed from the Wedding Garden near the Main House down to the sheltered harbor. To see more of my art, visit www.wildriverarts.com

 

 

Getting ready for plein air!

Next week is the 2018 Port Wing Plein Air event, and I’m so looking forward to it. In the past, I’ve had some difficulty painting plein air – it’s hard for me to narrow my focus to the subject instead of being overwhelmed by the gorgeous panoramic picture in front of me. So Paul decided we should drive to Port Wing and find some possible locations for painting. It was a wonderful day – we both love roadtrips and the scenery on the south shore of Lake Superior never disappoints. The area is a magnet for artists, so a plus side is that we got to meet and visit incredibly creative people. For this event, the competition radius is 6 miles from the center of town, so we had a glorious time exploring the roads and back lanes surrounding the Port Wing community.

Around the corner of one gravel road, we found this small flock of sheep feeding in a grassy meadow. This week’s painting is titled, Sheep on the Hill, and is 8”x10” on 300 lb. watercolor paper, reflects this wonderfully pastoral scene.

Great Egret!

In the summertime, one of my favorite sights on ponds and lakes in this area is the Great Egret. Snowy white, it’s easy to spot – even from a distance – and it signals to me that the waterway is healthy and the fishing is good! This was painted with permission from the photographer, Lonnie Lovness. She takes amazing pictures, and I believe this one was shot while kayaking on the Upper St. Croix River. Designated as a National Scenic River, the St. Croix provides incredible scenery and a rich habitat for a wide variety of wildlife and birds.

 

This week’s painting, Snowy Egret, 8”x13” on 300 lb. watercolor paper, captures an egret in all its splendor focused on catching its next meal. For more information on purchasing or commissioning a painting as well as upcoming events and exhibits, check out my website at www.wildriverarts.com