Monday, June 29, 2009

Plein Air this summer...


Please bare with me...I am jumping out of my skin happy. You see I received an award at the Cedarburg Plein Air Competition. It was my first ever juried award. It was an Honorable mention for my "quick paint" where we had 2 1/2 hours to paint and bring it back framed. 56 paintings were done in this way. What made me so happy about it was who I was competing with and what they are capable of. I felt SO honored! I have always tried to put the focus on learning something with each new painting and not on winning. That outlook does 2 things...it takes all the pressure off and it really helps me to be free to try new things in my work. But my friend Ken Auster always says "You are good when your peers say you are good" and so this little feather will stay in my hat for just a little while. Then I will lay it at the feet of the Creator, God where it belongs.

Monday, June 15, 2009

PLEIN AIR!!! Joy and frustration thereof...


Not much beats it for me! Today I went to Old World Wisconsin which is a great place that has a collection of barns . These barns and homesteads have been moved there from all around the state and lovingly rebuilt one board at a time in ethnic villages. (German,Norwegian Etc.) It is quite large and there are trams to take you around. Even so there is a great deal of walking and I was kicking myself for not packing lighter again! So you could say I had a frustrating start. The people I was to paint with I could not find in the sea of people! (Finally found them when I was all done and almost at my car.) I am not a physically strong person so just getting to the tram was a challenge. Then when I got to the place to paint I found that at some point on the (crazy) tram ride I had lost the gadget my husband made me to attach my umbrella to my easel. That meant I had to find a different subject to paint ( and move my already set up stuff) where I could be in the shade somehow as I would burn to a crisp being from Wisconsin and all! However...once I started painting all was well. Nothing bothered me...not even the hundreds of people asking questions...or the little kids who stuck fingers in my paints...What is that feeling...total attention...totally relaxed? I love it!

So here is today's offering entitled" A Spot in the Shade" 8x10 oil on canvas.

Saturday, June 6, 2009


So... yesterday I got in my car and drove the hour and a half to Beloit to paint in and support the Beloit Plein Competition. The weather was wonderful! This is one of the pieces I produced. The second needs more work and I may go back and make some changes to this one as well. I never painted a fountain before and I really struggled with it. What do you think?

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