So, it’s been a little while since I last checked in…who would have guessed that gallivanting around the Pacific Northwest for a month would have had me so distracted by family, food and fun that actually sitting down to write had slipped my mind for a while?!  Ah, such is life!  What can I say?  It certainly was a lovely last couple of weeks up north with all our many adventures.  The past few weeks alone we celebrated my dad’s birthday, my mom’s birthday, explored the town of Edmonds, trekked out to old Fort Vancouver and adventured up to Victoria B.C. for the day.  We also finally got to enjoy some beautiful spring-like weather during the last weeks of my stay, with all of the trees starting to blossom – definitely stirring my creativity (along with my allergies!)  I actually picked up some painting supplies earlier during my stay in the hopes of getting out to paint sooner; however, we also had a significant amount of wind along with our sunshine, so things hadn’t been ideal for a plein air session until towards the end of my visit.  However, I did finally get to break out my new supplies.

It was warm, golden and still outside after lunch one afternoon – absolutely perfect surroundings for a quick outdoor study session.  The sun was dancing on the newly formed green shoots and purple flowers on the trees in the backyard.  I was loving how the light was playing off of foliage.  I quickly got things set up so I could get to work.  I haven’t had too many opportunities to paint outdoors since I was in school, so I tried to approach this as a quick, fun, experimental piece.  I had been unable to find my preferred brand of acrylic paints in either supply store I visited, so I will say that the paints I picked up were a little thinner than I prefer, but still any paint is better than no paint at all!  I also tried to refocus my approach to this study to be more abstracted than some of my more recent pieces.  It took a little bit to force myself out of my normal approach, but due to the small size of the canvas panels I had picked up (9”x 12”), I was quickly realized that it would be a necessity.  The changing light over the course of the afternoon also pressed me to work more quickly than I usually do, which is something I have been wanting to work on.

All in all, a fun afternoon.  It was a treat being able to paint outdoors on such a beautiful day while listening to the birds sing.  My sister was kind enough to snap a few photos of my “studio” set-up and me getting started, as well as my companion for the afternoon – our family dog, whom she also posed appropriately.  I have included these for your enjoyment.  Enjoy and happy painting!