'White Picket Fence" (oil on linen, 11" x 14") sold

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Sara during the group critique session

A hot day!  Today Sara Poly's plein-air class went to Green Spring Gardens Park in Alexandria, VA.  I knew exactly what I was going to paint--hydrangeas against the white picket fence.  I had unsuccessfully tried the same subject twice last year, and was smarting from my failures.  I had scores to settle, so to speak.  I settled comfortably in the gazebo, which you can see from the above photo (say hi to my teacher, Sara, who is holding my painting during the lunch/critique session).  Everything was going swimmingly until I was mobbed.

I can't say I am a veteran plein-air painter--I have been at it only for two years.  Still, I had experienced my share of the usual difficulties, such as bugs, winds, heat, coldness, noise, crowds, etc.  An entire class of second-graders on a field trip decided to take shade and have lunch in the gazebo!  This was new.  My things got knocked over; I was pushed over; and several children became art critics.  What could I do?  I turned into a painting stone, completely ignoring the goings-on around me.  My art class had to wait for our turn until the kids left, and saw everything.  They shook their heads; some chuckled.

Considering the duress under which I had to work, I think the painting turned out well.  The class--my class--who have become good, fair critics, gave me an excellent advice about the big, trapezoid-shaped brick patio.  It had to lie flat and be broken up somehow.  So I introduced the wooden board leading into the picture on the far right and cooled the top portion so that it would recede.  What a day!

"Rainy Day Garden" (oil on linen, 8" x 10") sold

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I woke up feeling tired; the weather forecast was 100% chance of rain.  I was really tempted to stay home and rest.  Being a good student that I am, I reluctantly packed my art gear and went to Sara Linda Poly's plein-air class, which met again at River Farm.  The place hosts many outdoor functions like weddings, so has a big tent, under which we can still paint and stay dry.

I wasn't motivated to paint at all today.  As I intend to go professional with my art, I remind myself when I am in one of these funky moods that you don't go to work because you don't feel like it.  I eventually settled down to paint the above scene.  It rained--it actually poured--in the middle of the painting session.  It was chilly and windy.  At one point, I had to go retrieve paper towels that had blown away. 

Then the sun came out.  By that time, the class, which was sparsely attended to begin with, was mostly gone.  Those few remaining, hardy souls had a beautiful, lush garden to all ourselves.  What fun it was!

"Azalea Garden" (oil on linen, 9" x 12") sold

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Back to River Farm in Alexandria, VA.  It was supposed to be in the 80's with scattered thunderstorms today.  As you can see above, it turned out to be a breezy, but gorgeous spring day.  I sat on the ground in the dappled shade and painted what I saw--lovely azaleas against a low red-brick wall.  A rather shallow space.  Hmmm.

Originally, I had painted in a fake blue sky behind the wall.  Sara Linda Poly, my plein-air painting teacher, suggested grayed woods instead.  During the lunch/critique, a friend of mine protested against the brick wall.  After a heated debate (I saying that the wall was there, he saying that it detracted from the beauty of azaleas), Sara mediated with the idea of introducing the blues and greens to the wall and adding a bit of sky to the background.  I went back to the azalea bed and modified the painting as suggested.

The moral of today's painting session, I think, is humility.  I was pleased with my painting and even thought about skipping the critique.  Although I was a bit annoyed at my friend's critique, I listened and tried to look at my work with an open mind.  He did have a point.  There was a lot of reflected light on the wall from the mulched bed and light greens of the plants.  It was practically glowing--something you cannot see in the photo.  The wall was not a red-brick color as I had painted.  Smug self-satisfaction is something we artists should watch out for.

"Garden Statue" (oil on linen; 12 x 12") sold; "Rose Arbor" (oil on linen; 8" x 10")

"Garden Statue"
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"Rose Arbor" (oil on linen, 8" x 10")
click here to buy

River Farm in Alexandria, VA used to be owned by George Washington; it is now the headquarters of the American Horticultural Society.  It is also beloved by plein air painters who are welcomed to add the artistic touch to the already enchanting landscape.  Sara Linda Poly's plein air class met there yesterday on a perfect spring day.  I painted "Spring at River Farm" at my favorite spot, looking at the stone statue of a young faun (or satyr, as the ancient Greeks would have called it) through the red-brick pergolas.

As you can see, I have already painted the same scene from a different perspective. What was funny is that my friends also painted their favorite scenes they had painted before: Charlotte painted the white manor house as she did the last year and Alice painted the azaleas against trees likewise.  We seemed to be obsessing over the same thing all over again!  This is something on which psychologists can shed light. 

"Autumn Meadow" (oil on linen, 8" x 10") sold

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A freezing rain last night--not a good weather to paint outside.  The wildflower meadow field at River Farm along the Potomac River was in full bloom with fall flowers when I painted this piece in Sara Linda Poly's plein air class.  I just hinted at them with yellows and violets.  The bank of land in the background is Maryland.  There is a running joke among my painting friends: the Marylanders paint their home state bigger than the Virginians.  Can you tell I am a Virginian?

"Down the Path" (oil on linen, 8" x 10") sold

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I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas.  We wished for a white Christmas, but it didn't happen in northern Virginia.  Just a little dusting. 

Today I am sharing an old work--one of my first plein air paintings.  It was painted last year at River Farm in Alexandria in early autumn, when the leaves hadn't yet begun to change colors.  I have always be attracted to paths.  If there aren't any, I sometimes invent one as a way of inviting the viewer into the painting.  In this scene, two pathways join and lead you far into the woods.  One wonders what will await you when you get there.

"Early Autumn Wildflower Meadow" (oil on linen; 8" x 10") sold

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Have you ever painted with a palette knife?  Sara Linda Poly, my teacher, challenges her students to try new things, and painting with a knife is one of those things she pulls out of her sleeve every now and then, just to torment us.  I gave it a try twice, hated it both times.  On a gorgeous day in September, she urged us again to put aside trusty brushes and wield a palette knife.  Ugh.

Perhaps it was the perfect weather with no humidity, no breeze, no clouds, no bugs, and no pestering persons around.  Something magical happened.  I found a spot down the wildflower meadow, looking up the manor house at River Farm in Alexandria, VA.  After a quick sketching with a brush directly on the canvas, I began to flourish a knife without fear.  When I got to the sky and the house, I briefly switched to brushes for control, but other than that, the above painting--"Early Autumn Wildflower Meadow" (8 x 10")--was created entirely with a knife.

In an earlier post, I mentioned my trouble, even fear of texture--trees, grass, sand, dirt, leaves, flowers, hair, etc.  How do you render these things with paint?  How do you suggest them without painting every single blade, leaf and floret?  I found an answer--use a palette knife!  I could lay down a large, flat area; I could also dab, skip, and scratch with it.  What freedom!  What joy!  Isn't painting supposed to be fun?  There you have it.