Two Weekends of Plein Air

A Winters Afternoon
oil on canvas
8 x 10
$250

   I have had two very nice weekends of plein air painting. Today I went to church and then lunch with my parents before going to paint with my friends Sheri Jones and Joyce Thomas. We painted near Lake Benbrook.     
                                  

Putting the final touches on my painting.

                                     
    It was cold, windy, and rainy yesterday. But today, the wind and rain were gone and the sun was out. It was a beautiful day to be out and a great place to paint. We were not the only ones out enjoying the day. As we painted,  we were passed by joggers, walkers and a multitude of bicyclists.

Joyce and Sheri working on their paintings.

                                     

View along the creek where we painted.

Winter woods
oil on canvas
8 x 10
$250

   Last Saturday it was cold, it didn't get out of the 30s. But it wasn't windy and mostly it was sunny, so ten of us went down to Granbury to paint at Campfire's Camp El Tesoro. The camp is open one weekend a month during the winter and this was the weekend, so despite the cold some of us  went.

Me painting, with Sheri in the background.

   El Tesoro is a beautiful place,  the Brazos River flows through it as does Fall Creek. If the weather had been nicer we would have had over 20 artists but most cancelled and I have to admit I came very close to cancelling as well, but I was glad that I didn't, once I had a look around and began painting.

Dan and Robbie painting the river.

  The group consisted of myself, Tina Bohlman, Debbie Box, Sabine Higgins, Sheri Jones, Robbie Clemmer, Maryann Brummer, and her nephew Austin, Claudia Davis, and Dan Spangler. We spread out along the creek. There are so many great spots to paint.

Our group dressed for the cold and painting too.

   The creek was such a tempting subject with its falls and that is what I started with. But, my painting just wasn't working out so I wiped it down and started over painting the view across the creek, leaving the water out of it altogether. I was drawn to the back lit trees and the pale green fields beyond them.

One of the falls along the creek.

   I was much more pleased with this painting. By this time several of our group had left. I thought about starting a second painting but decided that I had had quite enough of the cold. So instead Robbie and I went to a Mexican restaurant in town. Painting was great but enchiladas, chips and salsa in a warm restaurant were even better.

The white cliffs along Fall Creek.

Prairie Fest Morning

Prairie Fest Morning
8 x 10
oil on canvas
SOLD

This is the last of my Prairie fest psaintings. Yesterday we had a great outing at my friend Maryann's property in Granbury. We had artists from all over the area including Fort Worth, Weatherford, Aledo, Grand Prairie, and five who drove all the way over from Dallas. The weather was great and a lot of really nice paintings were produced.

Kokopelli in the Jardin

Kokopelli in the Jardin
8 x 10
oil on canvas panel

This was painted in a beautiful garden at a home in Granbury. I really liked the rusted iron Kokopelli sculpture in the flower garden surrounded by the cedar fence with all the old timey flowers in it.

Granbury Garden

Granbury Garden
8 x 10
oil on canvas panel
$150

Granbury is such a beautiful town with many historic homes and buildings. It has a charm and character that many of our Texas towns and cities have lost. There is a sort of timelessness that is eharacterized by the care that the people show in their gardens and homes. I especially like the gardens full of the same flowers that were in my grandmother's gardens like poppies, roses, peonies, iris, and phlox,