Fifty State Plein Air Painting Project

South Carolina

2011-12-22T05:04:00.001-08:00

Two friends and I have been on a short road trip to Raleigh and the totally terrific North Carolina Museum of Art to see Rembrandt in America. You only have until January 22 to see it in Raleigh and it is immensely worthwhile; the most Rembrandt work ever assembled in US. My personal favorite is his portrait of Minerva, the Roman goddess of war, weapons and wisdom. I did not know he painted a series of goddesses and 3 are included in this exhibit. http://ncartmuseum.org/

Then down to Cherry Grove Beach in South Carolina for a 70 degree beach day and my thirtieth state plein air painting. Intending to paint no matter how cold it was standing out on a beach in December , I really felt lucky to have a perfect day. As soon as holiday festivities allow I will put a finishing touch or two to my "Dunes" pastel painting and post it here. This is how it looked on my easel after an hour or so of working.

South Dakota

2011-10-03T08:08:00.000-07:00

The glacial moraine prairie geology of north eastern South Dakota was formed 20 thousand years ago, by the last North American glacier moving in fits and starts through the region. I set my easel up on the roadside and wasted no time trying to get this glacially formed lake down on paper; a piece of hand-tinted and mounted Wallis. As I raced the setting sun for this picture I enjoyed chatting with a bicycling local banker and his wife and daughter on one of the finer evenings of a lifetime. Then it was back to the Buffalo Wallow Bar and Cafe in Sisseton, SD.

North Dakota

2011-10-03T08:00:00.000-07:00

Driving 300 miles is nothing to me, but for my companion (husband) I knew I'd be stretching his patience if I tried to cram too many high mileage days together. Therefore I chose to explore the Sheyenne National Grasslands in south eastern North Dakota. It was a perfect day for plein air painting...not much wind nor many bugs...70's and sunshine...fall foliage in trees and grasses. It doesn't get any better than that! This is a place I want to get back to, if only to give my husband a longer time to explore afoot with camera, while I paint more scenes. This is another 9 x 12 and it is on piece of mounted Wallis paper.

Minnesota

2011-10-03T07:51:00.000-07:00

Visiting friends and family, I chose this view of the industrial side of the Port of Duluth. I like the open expanse of the sky. In the east we often have "keyholes" that pass for sky....most of it being hidden by trees or tall buildings, so when I go west I spend several days being thrilled by so much sky! I am also drawn to the simple, yet interesting shapes of grain elevators and railroad yard buildings. This Sunday afternoon painting has a calm utilitarian color scheme. It is 9 x 12 and was made with the constraints of my airplane travel sized pastel selection and easel box. It is on a grey piece of Richeson board.

Some of you have asked how I choose my subjects. I would have to answer, "by the seat of my pants." Several factors influence my choices; time, light and personal preference. I don't look for iconic subjects...this project is not about painting all 50 state capitol buildings...or prettiest lakes, or tallest mountains. It is more about challenging myself to be able to find a subject and make a painting that interests me, sometimes on the spur of the moment, often before the sun sets and sometimes before I have to catch my plane. Working on deadline most of my life, in free-lance illustration, has equipped me with the ability to work under pressure. I enjoy a challenge.

Ohio

2010-11-11T13:16:00.000-08:00

Sunday morning found quite an abrupt change in the weather and me freezing in a field in mid-Ohio. It is surprising how much warmth I found in this scene. My chilly memories are too fresh, but now I see that I was searching for the hot spots in this scene. Time to head for home so I could vote on Tuesday...not that it did much good, in my case.

Thanks for looking....my 26th state!

Indiana

2010-11-10T13:06:00.000-08:00

Crossing the wide Ohio River on a very long and narrow bridge from Kentucky into Indiana, I was pretty sure I was high above the water, but the fog prevented me from seeing 20 feet in any direction. Pure delight greeted me when the fog lifted and I saw the quaint & pretty small city of Madison, Indiana. I felt like Dorothy landing in OZ. I painted the grounds of the Lanier Mansion while the townspeople busied themselves with Saturday errands and Halloween preparations. Some of them had lived there all their lives and loved Madison, even though they realized it was too quiet for others. I love quiet and hope to get back there someday to paint some of the many-hued buildings and homes...maybe even some of the inhabitants.

Kentucky

2010-11-09T12:41:00.000-08:00

At Foxhollow Farm Center in Crestwood, Kentucky I painted their fall row crops. It was difficult choosing which subject to paint; horses, beef cattle, lovely farm buildings, maple tree allee. Like many of the places I visit, I could have spent weeks, if not months and years painting the landscape. These are some of the people who are raising organic food using biodynamic methods so that we can eat local and build our health along with that of our land. My hat is off to them. I did find a few corners of my laden car to stuff in some of their wonderful products.

Mississippi

2010-11-08T12:39:00.000-08:00

Elvis Presley's mother, Gladys, bought her son his first guitar at Tupelo Hardware, which is just behind the paint store and Main Street scene I chose to paint here.

Alabama

2010-11-07T11:47:00.000-08:00

I arrived in Birmingham, Alabama early Sunday morning. I wanted to visit the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute downtown, but it did not open until 1pm. As I sat in my car making phone calls & shuffling papers I watched the parishioners arriving for service at a big and very familiar looking red brick church across the corner. It was another perfect sunny southern fall day and I thought I should set up my easel, but opted for coffee instead. When I returned to the museum later I caught sight of the church sign. It is the 16th Street Baptist Church...an important and symbolic center of African American life and the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950's and 1960's. On a September Sunday morning 47 years ago the Klu Klux Klan bombed this church killing four young girls. The tragedy was broadcast on TV screens all over the world. As a high School junior I had followed the developments of the Civil Rights Movement and the facade and story of the building was indeed familiar to me. I spent an enlightening afternoon in the museum and I recommend it to all visitors. I left with a more mature perspective on history...really from the birth of the city to present times.

The core reason for embarking on this trip was the workshop taught by Kim English called Plein Air Painting the Figure in the Landscape. For three days Kim helped us one-on-one as we struggled to paint quick poses one after the other; we'd paint for ten minutes, wipe off the canvas and start a different pose. It was difficult and exhausting work for all the participants. Luckily I brought some skills in figure drawing, value, color and composition to the class because my paint mixing and application skills were nil. Nevertheless, Kim helped me a great deal. He would come around to everyone's easel several times during the day and tell each student one way they could improve their painting. This was just about all I could grasp at one time and it proved to be a highly effective way to teach.

My painting Boy in Tuscaloosa Garden represents a ten minute pose, but I cheated on this one and used the remains of the shrubbery from a previous pose...just scrubbing out the model and replacing it with the next pose. So, it is a 20-minute painting. The other two days of "plein air" painting had to be conducted indoors due to tornado watches & warnings. We worked from two other models and kept right on building our skills!

The workshop was conducted and hosted by 2 southern ladies who love art and have been having these great workshops for quite some time, allowing students from all over the country to learn new techniques and expand on their old ones. Thanks for making us feel welcome, Sara & Leska. You are Tuscaloosa treasures!

Tennessee

2010-11-06T12:13:00.000-07:00

There's a lot of smoke in the Great Smokey Mountains and some of it is barbecue. A fine October Friday morning gave me some quiet space to paint this charming group of trees against the mountain backdrop while down the valley the community prepared for a weekend of Harvest Festivities. This is a 9 x 12 made on UArt 500 paper with an assortment of soft pastels in many brands. It is my 21st state!

West Virginia

2010-11-05T06:28:00.000-07:00

YES! All 7 of the hoped-for states were painted in my whirlwind trip through the south. I was mostly blessed with good weather; dodging wind and tornados and a mighty brisk Sunday morning in a windswept Ohio field. Details will follow; I'll post each painting, but it may take more than 7 days.

On my second day out I painted this pretty scene & twin span bridge over the New River at Hawk's Nest. There were only three ways in to this vantage point; cable car, boat and 7 miles of rocky, steep, partially washed out, one-lane mountain "road". Guess which one I chose...duh. I managed to steer the Prius clear of any damage and happily did not have to back up to let fishermen in huge pick-ups pass. West Virginia sure is a beautiful state...plenty of rocks and mountains and hollers...infinitely paint-able places and their fishermen are gentlemen. Next time I'll know about the cable car so I can avoid the white knuckles. What's a road trip without at least one time...and I had several...when I asked myself, "What was I thinking?"

A lonely mute swan was cruising the quiet waters while I painted.

7 State Southern Painting Trip

2010-10-19T07:57:00.000-07:00

Stay tuned here for new states...all provisional on at least half way decent weather.

West Virginia, (the elusive)Tennessee, Kentucky, Alabama, Mississippi, Indiana & Ohio coming soon.

The highlight of my trip will be studying with Kim English in Tuscaloosa.

Delaware

2010-05-30T11:40:00.000-07:00

I painted this beach scene on a perfect evening last week in Delaware State Park...not sure of my specific location because when I left I drove in the wrong direction and promptly got lost. I love my GPS! even though on this trip it insisted that my hotel was across the street from where it actually was. Besides spending lovely evenings painting on the beach and the bay I got to eat crabs!

Colorado

2010-05-05T09:49:00.000-07:00

Cumbres Pass - over 10,000 ft. It was an exciting day to be high in the Rocky Mountains; big wind, warm temps... in the 40's...and snow melt rushing down hill as fast as it can go in all ditches, creeks & gulleys. A very fun day of painting for my first new state of the year.

This 9 x 12 is painted on a pink Wallis board using a limited palette of soft pastels. I think it has the feel of a plein air painting...spontaneous, fresh with wind-blown clouds and a strong abstract design. I hope you see how much fun I had painting it. The air gets a little thin at 10,000 feet but I had been acclimated to approximately 7000' from Santa Fe.

Virginia

2009-11-25T09:50:00.000-08:00

State #17. A pretty November day and a quick painting...husband napping in car. I am always amazed at the number of churches in the rural south...one around every corner...one at the top of every mountain...no abandoned ones, either. They are painted and mowed and obviously loved...yes, I think one can love a building. Church parking lots often make great places to pull the car off the road and set up the easel for a painting.

While I was painting this peaceful scene some pigs in a passing car threw a full bag of trash out on the road and it blew all over this lovely little neighborhood. Since we're talking religion... may they go straight to hell.

Lebanon Lutheran Church pastel 9 x 12

North Carolina

2009-11-22T04:19:00.000-08:00

bottom photo by Michael Poster, song by Woody Guthrie

An interesting morning on the French Broad River in Western North Carolina the day after heavy rains gave me a winter picture full of grays & blues & mauves. I'm sure the water was cold. It was certainly rushing down out of the mountains at quite a clip.

The French Broad River got its name because the river flows north toward historically French owned land and because the river is so broad (wide). It is popular with fishermen and kayakers. It is one of only 2 rivers in the US that flow north. It has given it's slightly risqué name to many local enterprises...my personal favorite being The French Broad Chocolate Lounge in Asheville...ah the joys of travel to such exotic locations.... As I've said before, it's a tough job...but somebody has to do it.

An abundance of public land in the Appalachian Mountains adds to the appeal of the Asheville area for painters, too, as well as hikers, skiers, rock climbers. It is a welcoming feeling to know the land I want to set up my easel on belongs to me!

New Hampshire

2009-10-07T04:33:00.000-07:00

SOLD
This is an island near the New Hampshire border in the Connecticut River (with Vermont in the background). And another tiny floating grass island in the foreground which kept moving all around during my lovely afternoon painting on the river.

Maine

2009-09-30T06:40:00.000-07:00

SOLD
This is the same view I had each morning when I awoke in Tenants Harbor, ME. The soft deep thumping of the lobstermen's boat diesels would start my day, too. Each day the sky was completely different, but un-mistakenly Maine. This is small; 10x10, completed in a couple of gusty hours one afternoon.
Moral: she who hesitates misses the calm of the morning and has to spend some effort making sure her easel does not become airborne. I use a stone bag which I always carry with me (the stone I can usually find on location) and occasionally have to resort to bunji cords and shelter of a windbreak. Still sometimes a gust will determine where a stroke ends up.

Vermont

2009-09-28T13:24:00.000-07:00

SOLD
I love old buildings, especially ones with an industrial or agricultural past. To my eyes this little power plant is beautiful. New England values, maybe; work, strength, purpose, grace. I sure had fun painting this little 14 x 11 pastel on a perfect warm autumn afternoon near Medburyville, VT.

Massachusetts

2009-09-27T09:19:00.000-07:00

A perfect fall day for spending time on Millers River in western Massachusetts. It doesn't get any better than this for a plein air painter, a few fly fishermen or my favorite photographer smoking a good cigar. We were the lucky ones! This 9 x 12 pastel painting was done using my well-used broken bit assortment of soft pastels on a medium gray Colourfix paper.

Texas

2009-06-04T11:44:00.000-07:00

Palo Duro Canyon State Park, June 2, 2009. Texas Panhandle.
Not being terribly satisfied with the two vistas I'd painted of the canyon, I turned my attention to the wildflowers which had been drawing me since my arrival. They are everywhere; blanket flower, prickly pears, coreopsis, aster flowered daisies, horsemint and many, many others. The west Texas drought was relieved about a month ago and it rained all 3 days I was there, so I got to see fabulous lightning, thunderhead clouds and gushing "rivers". All this is making for fine wildflower displays. Aren't I lucky?

Maryland

2009-05-21T17:59:00.000-07:00

SOLD
In the autumn of 2008 I painted Assateague. The painting and sketching while beach sitting were great! Hope to go back.

Florida

2009-03-06T10:36:00.000-08:00

My first painting trip to Florida was in 2002 when I drove down to study with Doug Dawson. It was a good trip, he is a great teacher. Doug got me started layering pastels and I am using daily some of the techniques he taught me.

This time I went with my daughter and we delightfully frittered away the better part of a week watching birds around Everglades National Park...All around. I like these two little 9 x 12" pastels. The top one, Captiva Beach is sold.

Georgia

2009-02-04T14:56:00.000-08:00

In January 2002 on my drive back from Florida it was warm enough one evening to paint out on Jekyll Island. Long cool shadows, warm sky made this a memorable evening's solitary painting.

SOLD

Arizona

2009-01-26T05:56:00.000-08:00

Southern Arizona is a place I feel at home in and have done quite a few paintings there. This painting, A Perfect Day in the Sonoran Desert was made in 2004 near Tucson and it is SOLD. It is not part of the 2007 Thirty Paintings in Thirty Days project.

Hawaii

2009-01-19T17:42:00.000-08:00

In 2006 I made my fourth visit to Hawaii and finally made time for some sketching. (Since it was only pastel sketching and not full-fledged pastel plein air painting I think a 5th visit is in order in the near future.)

My husband and I visited Maui, Kauai and Hawai'i. So there was plenty of sightseeing, a bit of horseback trail riding, botanical garden walking and small snatches of sketching time. The beaches all over the islands are public, with clean facilities, shaded tables and cook-out areas. This is where families and friends meet for morning Kona, afternoon playtime for the toddlers or exhuberant teenage evening gatherings. I think that Hawaii has gotten so many things right that it does not really seem like it is one of the 50 United States. (mixed diverse ethnic populations to universal health insurance) Maybe it is the over-abundance of beauty that makes Hawaiians think they deserve the best!

I took a very lightweight and limited set of pastel pencils with me and an envelope of 9 x 12" sanded pastel papers, one chamois and that was it! I made about a dozen quick little sketches which did not give me the finished product I would normally exhibit...but it did give me a way to explore and learn and "be with" the Hawaiian Islands' landscape. When I visited Costa Rica the following year on a serious painting trip I had a better understanding of how to paint an ocean-scape because of these small sketches. Aloha.

Wisconsin

2009-01-19T12:34:00.000-08:00

In July of 2008 I was invited to Door County to participate in the Plein Air Festival to benefit Peninsula Art School. It was a wonderful week of painting for me. Most artists were graciously hosted locally... which gave us nothing to do but paint and attend gala evening openings at the school's gallery. It is hard work, but someone's got to do it and I feel that the effort and total focus paid off in the quality and quantity of work I was able to do in one short week. Weather was delightful and the subject matter for me ran from Lake Michigan to glorious flower gardens in full bloom to agricultural lands and old farm buildings. Sales were rewarding and I got to spend the week with Midwesterners - I value manners, reticence & warmth.

This is Nita's Garden painted on the main street of Bailey's Harbor about 7am. SOLD

Pennsylvania

2008-12-31T09:39:00.001-08:00

Meadow's Edge was made during my year as
Artist in Residence at Salt Spring State Park in 2004.

The majority of my plein air paintings have been done in Pennsylvania and they all have trees in them. For those of you not living in Pennsylvania, trees seem to spring to maturity overnight here. My studio sits on a ten acre parcel and I muse about just how many trees I actually own; tens of thousands easily. They shade and heat the studio. I curse their falling branches and the speed with which they shade my rosebushes. I welcome the birds they harbor & feed. In this painting I think we are looking at gray birch, black cherry, white pines, sugar maples and a few dozen others. SOLD

New York

2008-12-10T08:08:00.000-08:00

For several years I was invited to paint in Central Park with a national group of plein air painters. This painting was done in 2004 on the west side of the park.

SOLD

New Mexico

2008-11-30T09:10:00.000-08:00

May 2000 Ghost Ranch, Abiquiu, NM~
Having decided that 630 commissioned house portraits were more than enough, I signed up for a week long workshop with Jane Shoenfeld to jump-start my next career; self-directed pastel painting.

I showed up with my brand spanking new French easel, some papers and a new box of soft pastels. I was a little nervous...it's not natural flying with a pastel set-up but I managed to arrive with the gigantic, way too heavy suitcase full of art supplies.

I knew right away I had made an excellent choice in teachers. Jane proved to be positive and encouraging in her guidance and suggestions. I couldn't wait to get through her brief morning lecture and start working on a beautiful butte overlooking the desert. Besides the sand fleas loving the slacks I wore, the morning went fairly well. We broke for lunch and, neophyte that I was, I left my easel set up. During lunch at the dining hall under the cottonwoods I could hear the breeze was picking up. Worried about my easel toppling, I hurried back. Relieved that I could see it still standing on the middle horizon, I picked up my pace, but not in time. About twenty paces in front of me a gust grabbed it and threw my work into the red earth. Nothing important was lost; the pastel sticks were mostly broken, which is the way I have always chosen to work with them ever since; the painting was scratched & scraped...no damage there, and the easel was...and still is a little bent in places, but serviceable. I learned Rule #1; Never trust the calm side of the wind. I wish I could say I've never broken that rule since, but that would be a lie. It is a humbling exercise to be picking one's pastels from amongst the grass & gravel, but I apparently need to be cut down to size occasionally.

I learned many more lessons about plein air painting that week and made some paintings I was happy with. I traipsed all over Georgia O'Keeffe country. I made my first ever truly successful night scene, Chimney Rock. I fell in love with a red heeler named Chica. And I was fired-up for more pastel painting out of doors and more trips o the Southwest.

This little painting is Box Canyon.

New Jersey

2008-11-22T12:01:00.000-08:00

1978 Beach Haven, NJ~
To my knowledge this is my first plein air painting (as opposed to outdoor sketching). I was 32, not yet a mother; I sat on a piling to paint this spontaneous watercolor of flower gardens in front of some bay-side cottages. It has been hanging on the studio bathroom wall for 30 years, where you may have seen it.

At the time I had recently moved to rural NE Pennsylvania from Philadelphia and I was about to launch my new "career" of House Portraiture, in which I painted on commission over 630 watercolors and pen & inks of client's homes, businesses, hunting cabins, favorite places and even a golf course and a mobile home! Twenty years later in 2000 I knew that this type of forced labor had not only paid many a grocery bill, but I had learned everything it could teach me. The problems it presented were routine as had become my solutions to them. It was time for a new challenge.

I decided to paint only what I wanted and hoped to sell mostly from my own studio. Finally, my work was enabling (requiring) me to get out doors to paint my chosen landscape subjects. I needed to break the bad habits I'd developed in working from photos. I craved the experiences of the fresh air, seeing the subtle colors deep in the shadows, depicting atmosphere and air quality. I launched this millennial change of course in the southwest.