Scotsdale Farm

I went painting yesterday with four other Ontario Plein Air Society artists at Scotsdale Farm.  It was a struggle and I didn't paint anything that I am willing to post.  It was -3 degrees C so I put some glycerin in my water.  I don't know why but it didn't work and my water froze almost as soon as I put it on my palette. I decided to switch and paint my first ever pastel landscape but I only have portrait colours in pastels so that didn't go well either.

I did learn a lot so I am looking forward to getting out again.

RBG Sycamore

I met with John at the RBG again today.  It was about 2C so I could still use watercolour.  My fingers were getting really cold after a couple of hours but at least my paint didn't freeze.  There were beautiful billowing grey snow clouds but I elected to ignore them and paint one of the glorious sycamores that I have had my eye on.


I didn't go dark enough and overworked it a bit but I am okay with it.  I will probably paint this scene again only starting off with more pigment and darker.  We are coming back here on Friday so maybe then.

It was another great day to be painting.  I was back in the cedars again only this time I decided to step outside my comfort zone.  This painting had a lot of small twigs and branches scratched in and much to my dismay they pretty much vanished when I brought the painting out of the forest and into the light.

Having said that I have been told by artists that I trust and admire that this may be my best painting ever.  I feel like I have made a huge leap in my art in the last few weeks and I find that exciting.  I can't wait to see where this road leads.

Cootes Mud

Today I met up with three other Ontario Plein Air Society artists for a "paint out" at the RBG Arboretum near Dundas Ontario.  It was a chilly day with wonderful rolling clouds and I was with good company so it was a good time.

There is an OPAS challenge to do a painting using only two colours so I decided a grey autumn day was the perfect time to attempt it.  This painting was done using only Quinacridone Sienna and French Ultramarine Blue.  We had chickadees landing on us and our easels the whole time that we were painting.  I must remember to carry seed with me

The water levels are so low that Cootes Paradise is a huge mud flat.

It was another fantastic day to paint.  It was about 5 C when we started but it was close to 15C when we called it quits at noon.  John Mullenger and I met in the RBG parking lot of Rock Chapel Sanctuary.  There are many wonderful views of Cootes Paradise and Hamilton at this time of year.  In the summer the leaves on trees block most of the views.

John elected to paint the sugar shack and I turned and painted the view of the "High Level Bridge" and Hamilton behind it.  The view was very hazy and it stayed that way even as the sun rose higher and the day heated up.  It was very challenging because of the branches in the way and the distance but I am happy with how this one turned out.  I need to cool down the mid ground.

This afternoon I reworked my Mount Nemo painting a little.  Catherine Gibon suggested that I darken the sky a bit to accentuate the stream of clouds wafting up behind the point.  I think that it helps a lot.


I need to keep this pace up.

Foggy RBG Morning

It was very foggy at the RBG Arboretum at 9:00 this morning but visually very interesting as subject matter for a painting.  I love painting scenes like this but it takes a long time for my paper to dry enough to get a hard edge when the humidity is 100%.  If I didn't like challenges I wouldn't use watercolours.

Tomorrow is supposed to be another great day so I hope to get out again.

Fletcher Creek Conservation Area

It was a fantastic day to paint at the Fletcher Creek Conservation Area in Puslinch.  It was overcast but bright, about 8 C and relatively low humidity.  There was lots to motivate me and I found myself in a cedar grove with some very old cedars.  These trees were massive and close enough together that it was easy to lose my bearings.

This is 11" by 15".  It was a struggle because the trees were so dense and the twigs so thick that they looked like lace.  I wanted to capture that wildness without being over fussy and too busy.

I am still not sure how I feel about it.  I received some very positive feedback from other artists but I still feel that it needs something.

I would like more contrast but the grove was so thick that is was very dull with little in the way of shadows.  I think that I will call this finished and head back in there next week.  Off to the RGB tomorrow.