Plein Air.Day 2-Part 2

Continuing from yesterday . . .

When I got upstairs, all the carriage house doors had been thrown open providing a great view. I'm guessing a plein air purist might not approve but with a rainy afternoon, what else can you do?

My classmates had already claimed their spaces and were all working from photos of images shot in the gardens from the day before when the sun was shining. They were far from the open doors with their backs to the doors which kind of surprised me until I figured out that they were committed to working on the same painting for three days.

I quickly claimed what I considered the best spot in the room -- right by the doorway. Best of all, I fell in love with the tree immediately outside the door! Silly me, I never took a photo at the correct angle to show how the tree was framed by the doorway. In the smaller photo, the tree would be to the right. Just know that there is enough room for a car to circle the enormous tree without hitting the carriage house.
This watercolor painting from Day 2 might be the best one from this three-day stint. It captures the grayness of the day, the gentle breezes, and the light reflecting off the ground.

Tree Identification
Click this link which will take you to an autumn photo prominently showing the tree in front of the main building; the carriage house would be over the right shoulder of the photographer.
More than a week after I took the Plein Air workshop, I went back and took one leaf from the tree. Looking at Tree Finder: A Manual for the Identification of Trees by Their Leaves by May Theilgaard Watts, I've decided it's a European Beech. I wish I had photographed the leaf before it started to dry but it still gives the needed information. The photo can be enlarged with a click.
Check out this photo by Jean-Pol Grandmont of a magnificent European Beech. More photos at the previous link show just how large the European Beech can grow and how they appear to be fused trunks of multiple trees.