Jim's Old Place (Payne's Marina), en plein air, 12"x9"

This painting was done during the Old Forge paintout on Sept 3rd.

I had already painted another pastel at a different location but was not satisfied with the results because I had painted it with me under the shade of a building. Once finished, I noticed that the colors were different from what I thought I had when looked under different light. This was the third time this happened to me, so with that in mind I went out to paint another location.

These old buildings in Inlet had called my attention earlier on but at the time they were totally back lit. At 1:30PM I was on the parking lot across the street, in full sunshine with only my hat and sunblock for protection and ready to start. Now that I look at it, I wish I had had more time to tweak it a bit, but at the time it looked fine and I was in a hurry to have it framed for the auction before I left Old Forge.

Fog at McCauley Mt, Adirondacks, 12" x 9"

Last October, I was invited to participate in a two-weekend plein air paint out and auction to support the Arts Center at Old Forge. The only day I was able to participate turned out to be drizzly and foggy. We were given some locations to choose from, so I headed for McCauley Mt. since I had never been there. I had to work from the back of my van because the drizzle had turned into rain. Half an hour into my painting, the sun came out, and a little later hordes of people started to head for the chair lifts to enjoy the great fall colors. I had good time talking to a group of Amish or Mennonite women who showed interest in what I was doing and seemed fascinated by the pastel sticks.

When I considered the painting done, I headed to another location to start another scene. I ended up donating my second painting because although I liked the first one more, I knew it was not quite right yet.

At home, I did several changes to the painting, and still was not satisfied with the results. Finally, I realized what the problem was. The change in weather conditions at the time, had made me change colors in the middle of my work, and mentally, I was fighting with what I wanted to represent. After serious consideration, I decided to paint what had struck me the most, which was the fog coming down the mountain.