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Why, oh why, does the weather change on a dime in the Tennessee Springtime? After a glorious, warm week our Saturday paint-out at Joel Knapp's Bugg Hollow paradise started out cloudy, breezy and well below 60 degrees. Thank goodness I had thought to throw in my rain boots at the last minute.  After trudging around the acreage looking for the spot that might be calling to my paintbrush (what is it about rain boots that makes us feel like little kids trudging?), I found just the right place. Of course, it was in the middle of a shallow creek. My hardy tripod is built for such circumstances and there was a very handy tree branch to hold my supply pack above the water. Carefully so as not to dump the setup into the drink, I got paints, brushes, canvas, etc ready to go. Look at the pretty scene before me:  I still have miles to go before I feel even marginally competent at plein air painting (ergo, I'm not posting what I accomplished in the field/creek) But what I was able to identify were the lines, shapes and values and from the sketch I started, I was able to work out the scene. This is the mostly finished painting:  Tennessee is very, very green. Even the streams, rivers, and lakes are green. That can be a challenge for a painting to capture without wearing out the viewer's eyes. I have to learn to see the spots and speckles of light coming in hues of red, orange, blue, white that are scattered throughout all the green.
I will look at it again in a few days with fresh eyes and do some tweaking, but so far I feel like I'm on the right track! Thank you so much for reading my blog!!
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A talented friend of mine has an excellent camera and a very active bird feeder. She's been capturing photos of Southern birds this Spring and I've been snagging them and using them as reference for some fun little paintings. Lately, we've been entertaining the idea of displaying them together...her photos and my paintings...at our sweet little Anglican church to honor and celebrate God's abundant creativity seen all around us. My paintings, nearly finished, 2 of birds/2 of blooms:I have several more paintings in progress (at least, in my head) and a one that I dare not show. I'm finding the complexities of the peony daunting to paint; thank goodness for roses!
Thank you so for reading my blog!! |
