Yesterday there was time to slip one more plein air effort in under the wire of arriving rain showers, now torrential. Standing in the garden behind a popular area restaurant, I focused on a fountain; the sound of falling water is so relaxing and makes painting more enjoyable. It was suddenly like a day in November, chilly and wet. There were no interesting shadows to work with, due to overcast skies. The lion face in the fountain was difficult and I should have slowed down and focused on a piece of this, but the statue in the background also appealed to me. Working plein air is for me mostly fun but also an organizational challenge. I need a flat surface nearby on which to rest stuff, and usually don’t have one; brushes roll off the easel and into the grass. (I suspect that whoever invents a light-weight mobile solution to this will make a lot of $$.)
Illustration: “Oasis,” watercolor, gouache, and pen-and-ink on Arches watercolor paper approx. 11″ x 8″ by Black Elephant Blog author (2018)
This was the last chance to try for another painting under the rules of the “plein air” competition ending today. With the heavy rains now, it may be a challenge just to get over to the gallery with my work as some roads around here flood quickly. But two paintings are now done in a 24 hour time period. These days, when we all sense how little we actually ‘control,’ there is some satisfaction in this!
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