I had a great time painting at Pumpkinville today. I hadn't been there since Morgan was a little guy, so quite a bit had changed. I asked the nice folks there if they minded if I painted and they happily told me to paint anywhere I wanted. Then I went in search of my subject. I had a hard time passing up those cute goats, but the pumpkins won out. After all, It was "PUMPKINville".
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I knew today was going to be a challenging challenge ;-)... I had an appointment in Buffalo at 1:00. That cuts my painting time in half. I decided my only hope was to get out early and hope to find something to paint, quickly. I got all of my supplies in the van and headed east (since that's the only direction I can go...) One quarter of a mile down the road the fog was just beginning to lift over the valley. I pulled the van over and started setting up, knowing that the fog would lift quickly. Time constraints are one of the many aspects of plein air painting. Light plays a huge role and the entire scene can change mood and atmosphere within a matter of 15 minutes. Warning... Some of you are going to like this one and some of you are going to think... That I must've had a terribly bad day. I headed up to Allegany State Park, with the thoughts of hiking in on one of the Art Roscoe ski trails. I decided to head down Patterson. This trail is downhill and heavily forested. The sun was shining brightly but only a few flickers of light made it through canopy. I decided I wanted to try to show light flickering and to be very honest I was very worried about what the outcome might be. Please let me know your thoughts. When I was in college I tended to stay away from art history classes like they were the plague. Many of them were hours of looking at endless slides in a dark room, with the professor droning on in monotone voice. A good art history class is very dependent on finding a good teacher. While I was at RIT, I found that teacher, in the art history course that was titled, "The History of American Architecture". After this course, it was like my eyes had been opened to the beautiful architecture that exists in our local area. This farm is a classic example. Even the barns tied together in Victorian splendor. I started out my day, making a few phone calls to land owners to see if I could cross their land to hike back to a waterfalls that I thought might be interesting to paint. After gaining permission I hiked a short, but difficult trip to the falls, only to find that it wouldn't be in light until the afternoon. After making my way back to my van, I went to plan "B" and stopped in to our local blueberry patch, where I found this quaint old GMC truck. I love the color of the rust mixing with the blue. Wow, half way through the challenge. I actually painted what I thought I would paint today. I saw this little peninsula when I scouted out Allegany State Park on Labor Day. I had wanted to paint it then, but being Labor Day, the Park was packed and there wasn't even a place to park. Today, I had the park to myself. Anyone who has been to Red House lake, no doubt, has fond memories of this spot. I took this reference photo last winter when the dogs were searching out warm patches of golden sunlight to nap in. This is Kindle, she has the ability to become so relaxed that she melts into what ever she is laying on. This morning was a dreary, rainy day and I decided to stay in the studio. While setting up my paints I ran across this reference photo and fell in love with it again. I had planned to paint it in watercolors, but opted to try oil. This was a beautiful building that I had looked forward to painting from the beginning of this challenge. The difficulty was that the sun didn't fall of the front until 2:00pm. There is just too much to this painting to call it finished. I believe this beautiful old church will see me parked in front again. This farm sits on top of the world, with a view that goes on for miles. While I was setting up my easel I realized that I had lost a set screw that holds the painting up at eye level. I was too far away from home to run back to try to find a screw to make due, so I painted with the painting resting on my palette and then brought it back to the studio to finish up. Tomorrow I predict I will be taking a trip to the hardware store. |
Robin Zefers ClarkPull up a chair, put up your feet and listen to a few stories while the paint dries. Archives
October 2020
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