Getting to the Middle of July

I haven't been painting en Plein-air  as much as I wanted to this summer and time seems to be flying by!     After the week long Plein-air paint out in June I guess I felt I needed to switch gears and get busy doing something else which would also allow the experience to settle in my mind.   It was a great week with a lot of good art work created and I sure hope we have it to look forward to next year.  here is a linc for you to see the last day of the plein-air in Markleeville!   http://www.youtube.com/user/evelynyonker.  This shows some of the better artists on the last day, and also some of the Gallery and the reception.  It was great.

Today, I was up early and loaded up my companions, the 3 dogs I travel with and went to Hope Valley on my own.   I have been working on our big living room in the Dutch Valley house, scrapping paint, and re-painting  so I can hang artwork and perhaps use this room to work in and also show work, also sew, draw, and do some lite entertaining!  (right).........Anyhow, its a lovely room with a huge bay window that looks out at one of the pastures and a lot of cows, and no other houses roads or lights or anything!   Its also a north facing window!!   You could paint clouds on site all year from this window, and I plan to try.   Still, I needed a break , so went out to try a plein-air study.    July 24th, I will be leaving home to go to a Bill Cone workshop near the Sierra Buttes in Sierra County, Ca - - - - I felt I needed to get ready for that and also to use some of the Canson Paper he suggests we use for the workshop.   As you know I do use Canson and look froward to learning from Bill Cone!   My study for today:

This is on Canson " Twilight"   Which is a purple-grey   and I like it a lot.   I can't wait to learn what or how Bill Cone uses it to capture a feeling of light on the landscape.  It was fun today getting out there in the a.m. with my dogs to paint!  They love it , too. Trees are such a difficult element to get, and I do love them, but still have more to learn about that!   The other color of canson B.Cone suggests we try in "Tobacco"  This one is a warm brown-grey, med-dark - - -  -and I like it too.  I also really like the moonstone shade that Lorenzo Chavez uses  a lot.    I hope to get out again really soon!!!!