Hemp Field Edge

It was hot and humid today, pre thunderstorm, and Mary and I drove along some back roads in search of a spot to paint. The sun was strong and the distance hazy. The owner of the fields told us that hemp was planted here. Later a deer crossed the field, and then a bear and her two cubs came out of the trees. Everything was very green, and I wanted to capture some variation in the greens, from the blue green distance, the clump of trees in shade, to the fresh yellow green of the young shoots lit by the sun.

Incoming

Yesterday while driving, I saw a storm coming in. Lightening was flashing and rain was on the way. It was a fascinating scene of opposites. When Mary came by to paint today, I decided to give it a try - John Carlson says that it is good to paint from memory, and since my memory fades fast, it was now or never.

Bursting

The early morning sun is a brilliant orange for a short time period, and burts through the trees to quench our soul. And I wanted to burst out the colours and paint this heat coming through the cool forest.

Muskrat River

Mary and I went out in the late afternoon, to make use of a perfect painting day. We were positioned on a knoll overlooking a little river. A fox was leaping through the dried grasses. It was idyllic. We wanted to do a simple composition, with simple strokes.....and then it got complicated......or we got complicated.....or lost in the scene....or just had too much fun!

Pink

Still from our day outside, a little sketch of trees with what I find irresistable....a flowering bush. Mary gave me some Winsor & Newton Genuine Rose Madder to try - it makes lovely pinks.

Tree Island

Mary, Victoria and I went out in the late afternoon, in search of a painting spot in beautiful evening light and found one where we could park, spread out and yet not trespass. It was a glorious day....bugs and all. My first attempt was a wipe down - so I added thalo blue and got a bit more adventurous.

SPAWNING

Did I mention that I had the good fortune to acquire a beautiful handcrafted cherry wood studio easel from my friend Mary's husband Phil. It is huge next to my little plein air easels. My logic is that with a big easel requires larger canvases....and then came the second requirement - a lot more time. I have been working on this painting all week!

I took a rather colourless early spring scene and decided to see every nuance of colour possible. Gordon MacKenzie, a wise watercolour teacher had once told me "learn all of the rules well, then forget them and just paint". The time has come.

Apple Tree in May

Worked on the blossoms and shadow - needed more depth and contouring.

Many years ago, we planted an apple tree from a seed in a commercial Granny Smith apple. It was a school project for my youngest daughter, and grew to be a large tree. A few years ago it had three blossoms, the next year five, last year ten, and then this year there are thousands of blossoms.