5:00PM at Leetonia, en plein air, 12" x 9"

Memorial Day weekend was spend at Leetonia, PA, with family and friends.

While my husband was setting out the tent, I was setting out my easel-- My excuse: when the light is just right you cannot afford to waste time with unimportant things.

Because of the late frost we had earlier in some areas of the NE, I noticed lots of dead foliage on trees at higher elevations along the way. This was even more apparent at Leetonia (near the Great Canyon of the East, in north central PA).
I had the eerie feeling of painting fall and spring at the same time. The dead foliage had turned a rusty color that glowed orange in the sun, and the new foliage was fresh spring green. A very strange contrast indeed.

The Stream at Leetonia, 13"x19"

No heater in my studio yet, but I got a nice soft mat to put under my easel, and today I bought thermal leggings. I'm gearing up to work in "the freezer". You'll see something new soon! In the meantime, another oldie, started last year and finished in March.

This stream flows through the property of friends of ours, who invite us and a bunch of other people to share their cabin during Memorial and Labor Day. The area is near Colton Point State Park in northern PA, where the Grand Canyon of the East is located. We've seen wild turkeys, black bears and coyotes outside the cabin's door! It's hard to believe that before the reforestation project by the Civilian Conservation Corps in 1930 the area had been completely deforested.

While most of the guest relax or listen to music--there are really good musicians in the group, for me it's a great time for birdwatching, taking photos, and painting. And just in case you are wondering, I do take the time to socialize!

For this one I had the chance to do a 1 1/2 hour study on location before the rain forced me to quit. Months later, when I was ready to do a studio painting, I had to rely on my plein air study to do the background because that information had been lost in all the photos I'd taken. This taught me the importance of doing studies on location whenever possible.