Morning with the Scout

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Today's Walktober event was held in Penn Valley Park, and my daughter Tiffany rode up to the city with me - and is sitting to my right above!  I haven't painted here for years, and was excited to share this place with Tiffany.  I have drawn the iconic Scout in ink, and painted it on oils, but today I wanted to use ink and watercolor.  I'm still using my travel Qor palette that I got a month ago, and I am now used to the colors placements and mixing capabilities.  The brown and the ultra blue seem to be a bit grainy now, and they are resisting my brush when I try to pick them up.  I may need to clean the surface?  I have been working on backcountry roads full of gravel dust and dirt!  Maybe some of that is embedded in my palette!  Tiffany had an amazing painting - though the time limit cut into her painting time.  We only had an hour and 40 minutes by the time we set up, lol.

I'm so happy this painting was selected as the Quick Paint Award Winner in the Penn Valley  Plein Air during Walktober!  This painting is a retirement gift to one who has dedicated himself to the Kansas City Missouri Parks.  This is painting number 5165 in 5165 days. 

Back Path to the Scout

I refilled one of my favorite pens with my favorite ink, and drawing was sheer joy today.  I LOVE the velvety blackness of Levenger Raven Black ink, and the way it spreads with water is unmatched.  I have tried many, many inks, and none even come close.  My preference has so much to do with the paper I use.  I only use 100% cotton rag, rough finish normally.  It takes a very rich ink to lay down on a paper like that.  The combination is my drawing haven!  LOVE getting lost in my work!  Painting number 2256 in 2256 days.

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Penn Valley Ruins

This old stone structure is inviting from many different angles.  I first drew this composition from outside of the structure.  With the sun approaching noon,  I could certainly draw this, but paint would have to wait as the light soon hit the front straight on, changing everything about the values.  The back side was also very interesting, giving me the feeling of standing inside, looking out.  This building has called to me every year I've painted here for Plein Air KC, and this is the first time I've answered the call.  I'm sure it won't be the last.  Painting number 1939 in 1939 days.

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Kansas City Scout

The Scout draws visitors far and wide, and is truly a Kansas City icon.  When I arrive on location, I like to check out all the angles, looking for the best composition.  After sketching from this side, I hiked down the hill a little for another striking view.  I drew three different ink drawings before I finally got into the paint!  Painting number 1938 in 1938 days.

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Creekside in Penn Valley Park

This lovely creek called to me as I approached the stone bridge.  Looking towards the lake, I could not resist it.  I set up on the bridge, wanting to catch all the angles of creek and land.  Their interplay was inviting, so I penned it first, going right into paint.  The light changed quickly, so I kept the first color marks, avoiding the "chasing of the light".  Several artist friends were painting in the same area, which is always fun.  We can visit a little or work in silence, always checking in before moving to another spot.  There is so much camaraderie in the field, it is something I really LOVE about plein air.  Painting number 1937 in 1937 days.

oil on panel, 9x12
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Penn Valley Park Morning

This peaceful, tranquil painting was like birthing a baby to finally turn it in for judging!  Day one of painting was serene and still, and I used my acrylics for the underpainting.  Day two was windy and sprinkling, and I found myself holding the panel as I painted in oils.  What should have been a breeze to complete took longer than expected, and actually encroached into my quick paint time.  Family arrives in town, we celebrate the graduation of our youngest, and I get a call from another artist about the drop off time for our large pieces.  OMG, I completely forgot about the early time and my painting is as I left it two days ago.  No problem, I'll just do all my paperwork, pop it in the frame and get it downtown in the 3 hour window.  I sprayed it with a quick dry medium, which I forgot in the field, and tried to set it in the frame.  It wouldn't go.  I measure the panel and measure the frame.  The frame is 1/32 of an inch too tight!  No!  After trying to shave the edge with a chisel (to no avail), I gave up and sawed that edge off on the table saw!  Ever try to saw a wet painting?  I tried to shield the still wet paint with cardboard while cutting.  After blowing off the sawdust and touching up a chip, finally this baby was framed.  One just never knows what extreme measures must be taken at the eleventh hour.  What a relief to turn this painting in on time!  Painting number 1936 in 1936 days.

Showing at Buttonwood Art Space
oil on panel, 24x36

Penn Valley Lake Inked

I have tried 14 different shades of brown ink, looking for the perfect color, to no avail.  On a crazy whim, I decided to half load Levenger Cocoa and add Levenger Raven Black to my newest TWSBI Eco T fountain pen (in yellow green!).  Guess what?  I LOVE the color!  It is exactly the rich dark black brown I've been searching for!  That vintage quality it adds to this drawing is timeless!  I found a perfect solution!  The way it spreads with water is also perfect.  It's a great day, my friends!  Painting number 1935 in 1935 days.

ink on paper, 4x6
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Evening at Penn Valley Lake

I'm painting my large piece in this same location, and worked on it right up to the time of the quick paint.  Grabbing my panel and rain gear, I got my quick paint stamp, and hiked back to my easel.  The light was already so different than earlier, so this painting has a completely different mood to it.  It was very peaceful painting on the bridge, overlooking the lake, and that feeling seeps into each brushstroke.  Now, if only everything was ready for company when I got home.  A girl can dream, can't she?  Painting number 1932 in 1932 days.

Early Light at the Lake

The wee hours before dawn are quiet and thoughtful. I love the stillness that surrounds me while setting up for a sunrise paint.  The lake at the Penn Valley Park lies in a valley,  so the sun takes its sweet time getting here.  That early light is what I've captured here with my oils. I was at the very edge of the water to see the reflection of that wonderful tree,  and I had to be mindful of not dropping off that edge into the water!  This has been another fabulous week of painting in Kansas City, and next week it will be the Overland Park Arboretum!  Painting number 1588 in 1588 days.

Early Light on the Lake
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Footpath to the Lake

I got to the park early,  knowing this large painting would take longer than my usual sizes.  Last fall,  my husband got me the largest French resistance pochade by Guerrilla. It is my fourth,  I now have 4 different sizes,  three different styles,  and I love them all!  This one is discontinued,  and at the time I ordered there were only 2 to be found anywhere - so I snapped one up while I still could. It is heavier,  and I can see how I may well have trouble in a strong wind,  but this day was calm.  Thank goodness!  Only a few strokes into my painting, a man came up and started talking to me.  We visited as I worked, and he sat down behind me.  He remained through most of the painting, until he was called away.  I have to admit, it made me a little nervous when he started popping open beers at 10:30 in the morning,  and my artist friends were not in sight. All's well that ends well,  but next time I'll make sure there's a friend in sight!  Painting number 1586 in 1586 days.  This painting is now in the front window of the Buttonwood Art Space!!

KC Over the Lake, inked

What a cool view of the Kansas City skyline from the Penn Valley Park!  I like the 6x6 format, and the way the natural beauty of the park contrasts with the structural lines of the buildings. I've had fun painting here this week,  even though it is such a challenge to balance all this painting with my REAL life!  I just do whay I can, and roll with the rest!  I know so many of these artists now - it is super fun catching up with them in the field!  Painting number 1585 in 1585 days.....I think!

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A Walk in the Park

What a gorgeous day for painting!  Sunny, with a light breeze,  and temps in the 70's - this day was made for painting!  I love this view of the park!  There is something so peaceful about a path winding to the lake.  I positioned myself in the shade of another very large tree,  which allowed me to keep palette and panel in the shade. I painted this one small - only 10x8, mainly because the last one I painted here was 30x24!  I can't believe the KC Plein Air ends tomorrow.  I never get to paint as much as I want to when the event is local.  There are just too many obligations nipping at my heals!  Painting number 1584 in 1584 days.  Tomorrow's quick paint is at sunrise!

Currently at the Buttonwood Art Space in Kansas City
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KC Past the Lake

In the morning, I had painted my largest plein air painting yet from the other side of this lake.  As I ate my lettuce wrap,  sitting in the shade on this hill while another artist painted,  I looked down on this scene with admiration.  What a beautiful view,  and what a pleasant spot in the shade from which to paint.  With four hours left until the quick paint,  there was plenty of time to work on another.  Hauling my smaller easel up the hill,  I started to sketch.  I've been doing a pen and ink drawing before each painting,  to see just how it enhances my work over time.  The colors may be a little bold,  but for now it rests.  I almost never return to a painting once I walk away.  It is the fresh impression of that moment in the sun,  and another day is simply another painting.  Painting number 1582 in 1582 days.

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Firefighter's Memorial Fountain 2017

This memorial fountain is a tribute to all local firemen that have lost their lives in service to their community.  Situated in Penn Valley Park,  this was the site of our quick paint tonight.  After an hour's work, I decided I was finished and then framed and turned it in early.  I then drew a couple of pen and ink drawings of the same statue.  I would normally do the drawings first,  but not in a quick paint.  I want to use all that time for painting.  But as it turned out,  I had plenty of time for both!  Painting number 1581 in 1581 days.

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Prayers by the Water

Prayers by the Water
Oil on panel, 24x20
Penn Valley Park Plein Air Fest

This is my favorite place in all of Penn Valley Park!  When a large painting was on the “to do” list, I knew I would come here to paint it.  I had stamped a 24x18 birch board the day before, but once I had gessoed it, there were a couple of flaws that showed up in the wood.  So, I took another panel in the next morning for stamping - this one a 24x20.  It is the largest I have painting in plein air, and it took me three different times on location to get it.  I had only loosely blocked in the masses when I got a call that I could get in to see the baby.  So, of course I packed up my gear and headed over.  Once I returned, the light was so different that I only worked to middle values, leaving my lights and darks alone, so as not to lose them.  I returned the next morning at about the same time I had started, to finish and tweak anything that had been missed in the multiple visits.  I much prefer to paint it all at once, but at least I got it in - without giving up my “baby time” to do it.  If this one does not sell at the gallery, I am hanging it in the front room.  The title is an apt description of my time spent at this spot, praying for little Nolan, longing for healing.  Painting number 1228 in 1228 days.

Quiet Reflection

Quiet Reflection
Oil on panel
Penn Valley Park morning quick paint
Showing at Buttonwood Art Space in Kansas City, MO

Up at five, out by six, I arrived on location before the sun for our morning quick paint.  I walked around the lake a bit, before deciding on this rather unconventional composition with sky and it’s reflection in the lake.  After painting the very green landscapes of the last couple of days, I was longing for some cool colors to break up all that green.  It was a beautiful morning with soft breezes, and the painting unfolded before me as I thought about little Baby Nolan, just minutes away.  I would be heading there right after the quick paint, for a little quality “baby time”, before turning in my artwork to the Buttonwood Art Space.  If this event hadn’t been so close to the hospital, I would never have been able to participate.  Thank heaven for small favors.  These little getaways help me far more than hours spent in the waiting room.  Painting number 1227 in 1227 days.

The Scout

The Scout
Oil on panel, 14x11
Penn Valley Paint Out

After visiting the NICU in between painting windows down at the Penn Valley lake, I packed up my gear and headed up the embankment to my car.  Having placed my large painting in the trunk, I pulled out a fresh panel for the Scout, and climbed up the hill to it’s eastern side.  I was one of only three or four artists in site, and the quick paint was starting in 5 minutes.  I thought it was strange - where were they all?  I had forgotten my frame (with all of the turmoil of juggling the hospital visits and painting), so I texted my friend to borrow a frame.  When I rounded the Scout, to my amazement were the other 50 artists, all bunched up on the other side of the hill!  I had felt almost alone, and couldn’t even hear them over the hum of the mowers on my side!  There is nothing like a little “painting therapy” to keep my mind occupied.  Painting number 1226 in 1226 days.

On the Lawn of the Frontier Mother

On the Lawn of the Frontier Mother
Oil on panel, 14x11
Penn Valley Plein Air Fest
Buttonwood Art Space, KC, MO

One of the best things about being involved in so many plein air events is that I get to see new places!  This wonderful statue is one such thing!  This quick paint was my third painting of that day - and we were just glad to miss the big rain that was headed our way!  I just realized today that I had not posted this one, so I am doing so now.  I am ahead so many paintings, that it has become a little hard to keep track of them!  This afternoon was spent at Art in the Vines out in Louisburg, KS at the Sommerset Vineyard and Winery.  What a wonderful place, so picturesque and with a guitarist playing for the crowd - who could ask for more?  Painting number 509 in 509 days :)

Beneath the Sycamore

Beneath the Sycamore
Oil on panel, 12x9
Penn Valley Plein Air Fest
Buttonwood Art Space, Kansas City, MO

I arrived early for the Firefighter Memorial paint-out.  Having already picked my location for the quick paint, I still had too much time left to waste.  Nyle Gordon was talking about doing a light and shadow study - and I was in!  We set up looking towards this beautiful sycamore, with 45 minutes to paint!  It was so fun to just lay in those oils!  I started with the darkest darks, moved next to the lights, and then quickly filled in all the mid tones - and remembering to simplify those shapes.  When the time was up - I had a quick and loose interpretation of yet another wonderful view in the Penn Valley Park.  This painting makes 504 in 504 days and is now showing at the Buttonwood Art Space :)

Bridge Near the Willow

Bridge Near the Willow
Oil on panel, 14x11
Penn Valley Plein Air Fest
Buttonwood Gallery, Kansas City

On the night of the opening social, I saw a couple of the artist's paintings with this amazing stone bridge in it.  I had driven through the park, but had not seen it.  It was therefore, my mission to find this bridge first thing the next morning. After scouting various locations to no avail - I spotted two of these bridges down by the lake in Penn Valley Park!  This side is the rather unkempt part with a wonderful, natural feel to it.  The other side has been manicured with appropriate landscaping, and it faces the lake.  It was a bit of a task to haul my gear down to this location - but hauling it up was quite a workout, indeed!  I finished this one up just as the rain was starting, and stopped for lunch before starting the next painting of the day.  I just can't resist a stone bridge, and this one reminds me of the ones down in Dogwood Canyon - not far from Big Cedar in southern Missouri.  Wonderful and historic, they make such an addition to the landscape!  This painting makes 497 in as many days, and is now showing at the Buttonwood Gallery in Kansas City, Missouri at 31st and Main :)