I enjoyed my first outing with the Plein Air Washington Artists last week.....What a fun and welcoming group of fellow painters!....We all went to Bainbridge Island's, Bloedell Reservation. The history of this amazing property is very interesting. It is definately a great place to paint!!
The first day was raining a light drizzle but it added to an interesting atmosphere that I tried to convey in the paintings. I did three paintings the first day which will be posted soon.
I did find a pretty dry spot under a huge fir tree to get this painting....I was enjoying it so much I didn't want the day to end!
From the photos I took on the trip.....I used my pallet knife quite a bit on this one.
Lets continue this adventure......From our camp ground at Silver Springs we left in the morning to follow FSR 73 to the Elinor Lake trail head......after a detour all the way around the lake...looking for the trail to Grand Park( sheesh!) we headed up to one of the most beautiful vistas I have seen in Washington...I'll let some of the pictures tell the story although the majesty of this place can only be felt fully by standing there yourself!
I was anxious to get started and set up as soon as I found a good spot with the trail leading into the scene and some alpine firs framing the composition.
So glad I was able to take my wife Ann on this trip ...She loves to hike and is my biggest fan!! Never complaining when I pull off to get a painting.
This is the weather us North Westers wait all year for! Through the dreary spring rains that seem to last all the way through June most years ....then the cold summer....till finally ...we get to September and it turns glorious! Ann and I got away for a couple days to climb up to Grand Park which has spectacular views of MT. Rainier. We camped the first night at a little camp ground off highway 410 called Silver Springs.
We left the day after Labor Day weekend and the camp grounds were wide open.....had our pick of the place and found a good spot right on the river . I have turned the van that Anns folks gave us into the paint-camper mobile..and it works great!
This was the last painting done on the trip. I don't feel like any masterpieces were achieved but that is not the purpose of plein air painting ....Of course it is great if you nail one, but my intention is to see and experience the location, do color studies, sketches and take reference photos for the winter months when I can't get out to these amazing areas. This winter I will have lots of material for the studio!
Set up for "Hunt Club"
The salt water marsh area next to the Three Crabs restaurant is managed by a group of environmentally minded water fowl hunters. This group owns the property surrounding the mouth of the Dungeness river. There is a full time care taker and the property is watched and maintained. I received permission to paint on the property ( Thanks again Matt!) and set up to paint the club house across the marsh.
The masses of water fowl, geese and ducks along with many other species of marsh birds give testament to how well this resource is looked after.
Summer is here, although rapidly going by!......and I have been spending as much time as possible painting outside!.....and dreading all the time required to sit at the computer updating my blog!.....But I'm trying!!
I took an overnight trip back to the mouth of the Dungeness River, planning on camping again at the Three Crabs Restaurant. Some of you who are long time subscribers may remember my trip in 2010 when I was commissioned to do several paintings of Northwest rivers. When I arrived the cook informed me that the restaurant had been sold to the state and will become a park! I decided to paint the place for posterity ...I will sure miss the Three Crabs! Hopefully the state will manage the property well......but they will not be able to serve up delicious crab cakes!
An interested customer took a picture. I gave him my card and he graciously sent me this image. It was pretty hot out there that day!
I spent the night in the parking lot and got up early to start the day of painting ....This was the glorious view that greeted me!
Coming back one evening from a church family campout on Marrowstone Island ,we were stopped in our tracks by the beautiful light after an unusual thunderstorm (for our area). This narrow strip of land connecting the Island to the Olympic Peninsula offers a great view of Mystery Bay and surrounding salt marsh.