Cataract Falls

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This Indiana State Park is beautiful!  I have driven by this exit of 70 hwy for years, and have only just now been able to get it painted!  Spending time in nature is such a healing balm to my soul - and what best way than to really absorb it all while painting?  Painting number 2448 in 2448 days.

Billie Creek

After losing our GPS signal and driving blind, we stumbled into Rockville and found a covered bridge map!! This beauty was the second one out of town, and you know I had to paint it!  I found a beautiful place in the shade along the water, and began my process. I sketched with paint, marked the darks, and put down those main color marks.  With birdsong and rippling water, this morning paint has been a joy!  Painting number 2448 in 2448 days.

Bridgeton Covered Bridge and Mill

I could not believe my eyes when we rounded the turn to see this amazing site!  By far the most beautiful covered bridge and mill I've ever had to joy to see, let alone paint!  Very hungry after ther long drive, my mom Teddy and I stopped at that mill for a late lunch.  Would you believe they had a gourmet cheeseburger with an artisan bun made from their own ground flour?  It was amazing and gave us the nourishment to paint!  It was hot, windy, humid day, and there were plenty of little bugs - and I enjoyed every minute of it! Painting number 2447 in 2447 days.

Family Home in Metal

Oh boy, I LOVE experimenting with art!  And this media is completely out of my box!!  After reading an email about a metal workshop offered at my local art league - Tri County, I rearranged my schedule to attend this workshop.  I am so glad I did!  Exploring the sculpting of metal is invigorating - and I started with a sketch!  Simply taking a stylus and sketching out my house, I started pushing and pulling the metal with the basic sculpting tools until I got the image I wanted. Then, with a little shoe polish and black acrylic paint rubbed into the crevasses, this is the result!  Can't wait to do it again!  Painting number 2447 in 2447 days.

Fountain in the Park

Heading through Ripley Park to paint on Main Street, I couldn't help but notice the wonderful light on the lake. Setting up for a quick paint, I marked the masses with their appropriate colors and started working from there. When I am very short of time, I don't sketch in ink or even with paint on the panel, just a quick marking of masses with an accurate color.  I then push and pull that paint until it is heading in the direction I want it to go. I really love the way the fountain water breaks the surface, causing a dynamic exchange of light and motion to capture with paint!  Painting number 2446 in 2446 days.

Walt Disney Hometown Museum

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As I rounded the corner, I found myself drawn to this place. I don't remember seeing this beautiful garden before today!  I paint in Marceline each year, how could I have missed it?  I found a little spot in the shade and started drawing out my composition.  This beautiful building once busy as the town's train station, now houses the Walt Disney Hometown Museum.  Once the lines were drawn with India ink, I brushed in the watercolor, pushing and pulling the color and value.  What started as a quick sketch became more detailed, and as I completed, I no longer wanted to do it in oil.  This 2445th painting in 2445 days was awarded Honorable Mention and has a new home, too!  I love painting Marceline!

Barn Among the Sunflowers

These yellow wildflowers are blooming like never before down at the Disney Barn.  I'm not sure if they are tickseed or blanket flowers, but wow, they steal the show!  Perhaps my favorite place in Marceline to paint, this Disney Barn is surrounded by wildflowers.  A path winds around the barn and down to the pond, and it was hard to choose what angle to paint from.  I sure wish I'd put cad yellow medium on my palette!  Painting number 2445 in 2445 days.

Wedding Arbor

After a long morning run and time spent in a very hot sauna, I am settling in for a little art therapy in the orchard.  Beneath this arbor, Michaela and Cooper exchanged their wedding vows on Sunday.  Once the kid's fort stood here, and many happy hours of play took place on this spot.  She chose it for this special day, and now I commit it to ink and watercolor.  Painting number 2444 in 2444 days.

Phillips 66, Corner of Market and Main

This nostalgic Phillips 66 station at the corner of Market and Main in Weston, Missouri, is a great place to visit.  Like stepping back in time, the whole place is so very authentic.  I had to sketch this, so I chose my favorite TWSBI fountain pen and my favorite ink, Levenger Raven black. Starting in a central location of the building, I work out from there, careful to keep all those line relationships accurate.  As I worked, I was entertained by the conversation of three elderly men on a bench near me.  Time flew and I finished before they did.  They are just another layer of this small town charm I love to capture. Painting number 2443 in 2443 days.

Sunflower ATC

This northeast garden bed is full of sunflowers, and they are nearing their peak.  These blooms last super long, even as cut flowers, and are showstoppers on the lawn.  So, after a day of unwinding with friends, I am painting these beauties in the golden hour and looking forward to fall.  Painting number 2442 in 2442 days.

Lantern

So many beautiful memories were made by the light of lanterns like this, as they sat among cedar and old photos.  Witnessing the marriage and celebration that followed, they sit quietly now, still glowing.  What a perfect evening for a wedding.  Painting number 2441 in 2441 days.

Wedding Roses

I simply could not pass these roses by when I spotted them in the store.  The wedding was coming and I needed something special for the table. Still tight and unfurled, it was the color that hooked me, so I took them home. Each day they open a little more, their true beauty bursting forth as they grow in size and volume of petals!  I am working them tonight in ink and watercolor, but oh my oils are calling!! Painting number 2440 in 2440 days, celebrating the marriage of Michaela and Cooper.

Paxico Vineyard - Prairie Fire Winery

I did not believe there were vineyards in the Flint Hills until I saw them!  What a beautiful place to paint and enjoy a glass of wine!  Painting number 2439 in 2439 days.

Van Zyverden Canna and Bee

I have been spending the days in my gardens, ever tending and weeding the masses.  As the hours grow short to the wedding, I am only finding tiny painting windows, ATC sized today. This amazing canna is one of two I planted this season - and they are knock outs!  The foliage is gorgeous on it's own - and then the amazing orange bloom adds icing to the cake!  I'm so happy we tried several canna varieties this year, I will be painting them until frost!  Painting number 2438 in 2438 days.

Bee and Rose of Sharon ATC

Over half of my many Rose of Sharons are in full bloom - just in time for Michaela's wedding!  Those silly Japanese beetles descended right after baling the hay, eating many tiny flower buds before they ever opened.  Those in full bloom at the time suffered, but all of these look great - and I had to paint them!  Feels so good to get a tiny art therapy break in!  Painting number 2437 in 2437 days.

Main Street Galleria

I had so much fun painting Weston during the plein air event this year!  It has always conflicted with my schedule, but this year I made it work.  I love the charming buildings along Main Street, and sure wished I had more time for painting!  I will definitely be back, and next time I'm going to do more shopping, too!  Painting number 2436 in 2436 days.

Yellow Barn Inked

After a little morning scouting of Door County barns, I knew as we approached THIS would be our painting location!  Finding the owner on the front porch, she graciously allowed us to stay and paint.  What fun!  I made a new friend who is also an artist, and got to sketch and paint this gorgeous old barn!  A perfect plein air day!  Painting number 2435 in 2435 days.

Blanket Flower

This is my first season for this cheerful yellow blanket flower, Arizona Apricot.  Planted early and only watered once or twice, this perennial is an abundant bloomer that performs well in the heat.  With very little care it has flourished!  So, after a very busy day of yard work, I am painting this beauty with ink and watercolor.  I can't wait to see how it grows!  Painting number 2433 in 2433 days.

Jackson Harbor

I wish I had time to really paint the rugged beauty here!  The water is so high on Lake Michigan, it comes up to those barns while other outbuildings have flooded. There's an amazing array of fishing boats here - with more rods than I could count!  With only a short time before catching the ferry, I use ink and watercolor to capture this place. The wind was cool and strong, so I had to mind my hat - or lose it in Lake Michigan!  Time stands still here, and I love immersing myself in such a place.  Painting number 2432 in 2432 days.

Glory in the Sky

I am constantly drawn to the cloud show appearing in the skies above me.  Distracted while driving, weeding, or at any outdoor event - I feel a compulsion to drop everything and capture the beauty in paint!  So often the light is fleeting, so I rush in to mark the colors first, followed by the highlights, and finish with the shadow tones. I find these remain longer than the rest, so I can mark the areas quickly and return as I pull it all together.  Perhaps I should do a painting challenge on the heavens - 100 skies in 100 days?  Maybe then I would be comfortable with  these cloud scenes!  Painting number 2431 in 2431 days.