First Plein Air of the Year

Green Lakes in Spring, 9"x12"
A friend recently got a new easel and she wanted to try it outdoors so she suggested we go painting somewhere. I don't think we could have chosen a better place than Green Lakes State Park.

I have painted there before and I'm always fascinated by how fast the water changes on a breeze day. In the hour and a half we stood at the spot I figured I could have painted that scene in at least ten different ways.

On the Way to Cross Lake, 9"x9

I had the intention to try painting outdoors this past winter, but never got around to it. As a matter of fact, I didn't even paint a single winter scene.

Somehow it didn't feel right to let the season go without a reminder of it, so I had to console myself myself by painting from a photo.

This is a late February scene of one of the many roads that lead to Cross Lake (snow-covered in the distance). I find the yellow of the willows very uplifting during that time of year. I used black Canson paper.

Two from One

Sunset by the Pond, 9" x 12" SOLD
I'm planning on taking a workshop with Susan Ogilvie in a few months, and because her style and use of color is so different from mine, I decided to challenge myself color-wise. A blurry photo of a farm pond on Rt 13 near Dryden gave me that opportunity and more. Top one was the first version. I wanted a sunset, so I started with the pink flamingo sky.
Fall Reflections, 8" x 10"

I do not remember the reason behind the second version, but perhaps it was the water and the reflections. Although it's not so wild in color, it gave me the chance to explore color harmonies.
All in all it was a fun exercise, and what I liked the most was playing with the distance and changing shapes.