Saturday, April 18, 2009

Plein Air Saturday - Red Bank Marina

Today, I met the plein air group at Hoover Reservoir, Red Bank Marina area. It was a really nice day. I arrived about 8:30 and it was a very comfortable 45 degrees.

Below is my lucky pear tree. This is the tree that gave me the pear last fall during another plein air painting outing. I painted this pear in pastels in two views framed together and it won an honorable mention at an exhibit.

How lucky was I today to see it in spring bloom against the bright blue spring sky? The leaves were a lovely chartreuse green that might not be too apparent in the photo and the white blooms were just partway open.

Here is my first painting of the day. I am still deciding which mat to use. Not sure if the yellow or black liner gives it more pop? I am leaning towards the black. The outer mat is white, which didn't photograph well.

'Spring Willows' 5" x 7" Pastel on suede matboard

Here is a closeup photograph of the scene.
This shows my setup, along with the scene.
This was my second painting of the day. I simplified the scene a bit. I am trying to be a bit more abstract and not try to fiddle with the details too much. I used my artistic license to remove some items and to angle the masts to give it interest.
'Dry Storage' 5" x 7" Pastel on suede matboard.

A photograph of the scene.
My setup with the scene.

2 comments:

laura said...

Good for you for going out--I wanted to, but chickened out!
I love the silvery light on the water, and the black (or black seeming?) tree trunks in Spring Willows painting. (IMHO I like the yellow mat.)

Nancy L. Vance said...

OK, one vote for yellow mat! Thanks!

Yes, its hrad to get going that early in the morning on a weekend, but once I get started painting, I really enjoy it. Today was lovely - lots of birds (including ducks and geese) and I had a breeze which gave me a whiff of 'water' that made me smile and realize spring is really here!