Plein Air Painting

'

Tombstones

8 x 10

Oil on panel

Tombstone

8 x 10

Oil on Panel

I went on my first plein air painting excursion last week.  A dear friend lives 3 1/2 hours south of me so I decided to venture to her house and we trekked out to find our plein air mojo!  Sue Churchgrant is an accomplished watercolorist and oil painter who was kind enough to let me stay in her home and accompanied me on this adventure.  

We first visited a park that had a little of everything.  Waterfalls, streams, rocks, hills, fishermen, paths through the woods, picnic tables and even a cemetery!  My first couple of paintings were tough.  It was hard to focus and hard to contain my vision.  I had a "finder" window but kept losing my place.  On the second day I decided to paint the small gravesite you see above.  The landscaping timbers kept me focused on that scene.  As I stood and painted I noticed that small grave marker beside me and the light hit it so perfectly I took a small respite from my current painting and did a quick sketch of the tombstone.  Then back to finish up my scene.

The experience was challenging but positive.  It was fun to have Sue there...she remembered the bug spray and a couple other items I neglected to pack...besides moral support...It was nice to have someone to bounce ideas off offer assistance.