Plein Air - Tentative Start

Last week, I took a three-day Plein Air class. If you are following my work, you will know that I took a similar class last August. Since then, I took an abstract painting class in the fall. Other than that, I haven't painted since. It's easy to get rusty fast, but still, skills do come back faster than expected.

Typically, I have multiple paintings going at once. On Day 1, I used watercolor; on Day 2, I switched to acrylic; and on Day 3, I went back to watercolor. The first paintings were tentative but I got stronger as each day progressed.

But at the beginning of the next day, I felt like I was back where I started -- tentative. This set of watercolors is from the tentative phase, which lasted into the third day. The images are scrambled in no particular order.

By the third day, I was putting detail into the paintings, using my smaller brushes to add leaves and twigs. In this way, some of the paintings were done over several days time.

I'm not too crazy about these paintings, but I think it's important to see where I started. The stronger paintings that followed have a basis in these early efforts.

I was free to move about, but it was easy to stay with the same tree for three days. I really love this tree and could paint it for several weeks without tiring of it. In fact, I painted it from the other side last summer. A photo of the other side of this tree can be found here.

Last week, temperatures in the Northeast soared into the mid-90s and beyond; fortunately, I found a place in the shade with a slight breeze. I was very caught up in my work and really did not notice the heat until it was time to pack up the car and go home.  Despite the heat, it was really wonderful just to be outdoors on a full-blown summer's day. These are the days I longed for through out our long, cold, winter.