Mill Creek IV

Here is another Ramsey Mill Creek view.  I liked this one because the reflection came together in the lower right quadrant.  I used a very light hand and so the light and colors are registering well. The photography here still needs help.

On this day we saw several kayakers skiming along.  There is a public launch area here with a small area for parking.  Great place to go wandering on the water.  Take a lunch and get lost for a while.  Tons of waterfowl.

Mill Creek I

This is a painting I did after a great Mary Pritchard plein air class sponsored by Chestertown Arts League.  The location is Ramsey Mill Creek.  It was a crispy, intense fall week and we wore a full regalia of coats and hats.

During the workshop I painted this scene at least twenty times.  I felt pretty good about how this one turned out and I'd paint there again in a heartbeat because everywhere you looked you saw another beautiful aspect of the site.  We started around 8:30 AM and finished around 4:00 PM, so plenty of time to experience the color changes as the sun moved across the sky.

I love the blues and oranges. The complementary colors always grab my eye.  Also like the water and the movement of the wind across the reflections of grasses and trees.

This painting reminds me a bit of a woodcut.

Pooped

Here is a barn on the farm where I took a class in 2010.  The class was taught by Mary Pritchard.  She was wonderful.  As good a teacher as she is an artist!

On this my first week painting "every" day I am copping out!  Its been a very long day. 

But I have gotten lots done.  Lots of photos taken.  Lots of prep for future projects.

Every bone and muscle screaming.

Shell Seekers

This is an early morning observation of a couple who had stopped short to look at a something in the water.  They had been walking, paused suddenly, turned to each other and peered into the water.  They stood there for about 5 minutes or so.

They looked to be in their 70s - he was shorter and wore an Irish wool cap.  She had very dark hair and was a good  five inches taller than he.  It was a fast color sketch, so I have had to finish without my reference.

The tide was out and the birds are having their breakfast of clams.  

They pickup clams in their beaks, fly up and fling them down on the sand.  Often they will do it several times until the clams, stunned, let go their grips and are gobbled up faster than you can say "chowder".

The shells are in thick piles all along the beach.  Its hard not to want to take home buckets of them.  I'm hoping to paint a series of shells I collected.

I'm having difficulty photographing my work.  I'll have to read up on technique.

Any suggestions welcome!

Spring Has Sprung!

We have had just an incredible weekend!  We had 72 degrees F on Friday and increasing wind on Saturday with 45 to 50+ degrees F here on the Eastern Shore of Maryland.  And to windsurfers here on the Chesapeake that means its time to surf.

Here is a quick sketch of a windsurfer near the shore almost at sunset, but when the light was still dancing around picking up the reflection of the water and thickening cloud cover.  Also had a huge fullish moon that was a fascinating study all on its own.  Got a few photos of that so I will save those for a slow day.

Altogether we are having a good and early Spring.  We are all thinking about our gardens.  What are we going to plant, how soon can we get it planted and do we have to worry about protecting our seedlings from the cold?

Please Lord let the Gods of Winter be done with us!  Let us paint buds straining to break into blossom, grasses the color of pale soft greens, tulips and daffys, cherry blossoms.  Spring is such a welcomed time.  We want everything to be well with the world. 

God Bless the World and bring our hearts to kindness and peace.

What Have I Gotten Myself Into?

This is why it is called a challenge.  I am putting it out there. So watch me learn, and relearn...practise and learning is the idea.

The part I like the best is the spout of the teapot.  It was easy to see the different colors of the spout and somehow it felt like I got it.  But that is pretty much all I got.  I should have done a value study - I rushed through the composition.  Both things I will try to avoid.

Courage.

I think I will revisit this one after it stops smarting.

I do have a new rule though:  If you get it posted before you go to bed at night, it counts.  Thanks for watching!

Sanibel Sandpiper

I took this photo on a trip to Sanibel Island, Florida with a best girlfriend.  We went for some warmth and a chance to paint at the beach.  We got both.
I entered this painting at Chestertown Art League Winter Blues exhibit.

I guess I need to get better at photography.

A special thanks to Carol Marine for the inspiration to paint everyday.  And I really hope I can get a place in one of her upcoming classes!

Once upon a time in a country far, far away...

I am new to blogging.

As a result of a the Painting a Day artists I have met through the wonder of my laptop computer I have decided to begin my own blog and accept the Painting a Day challenge.

Paint every day.

That's it.  Maybe something more erudite later.