Blog 16
This is the
continuation of last week's blog about the Plein Air Ensemble spring
trip to Orford in the Eastern Townships.
Saturday, the
weather had finally changed for the better. While the temperatures
had dropped, we finally woke up to a sunny day. Hélène and I
decided to go back to Bolton where we had seen the picturesque view
from a bridge. However, it took us a couple of detours to get to the
spot. First, we lost our way and ended almost back at our starting
point, then we decided to paint the beautiful treed island on the
route 423 in the morning, and the bridge in the afternoon.
It did not go the
way we had planned. As we were not able to park on the shoulder of
the road, we tried to get permission from the closest property owner
to park our car in their driveway. When we did not reach anyone, we
just parked the car at the entrance of the driveway. We had just
carried our equipment to the side of the lake, when a neighbour
approached us letting us know that this was private property and the
owner would definitely not like us to paint there. Very frustrated,
we packed our gear together. While most property owners are more than
welcoming, once in awhile you meet someone who is less than thrilled
about the idea of anyone coming even close to their property.
When we finally
reached the bridge at Chemin de Bolton Centre it was almost noon.
Each of us set up on a different side of the bridge. Even though the
sun was shining, the wind was cold enough that I had put on my snow
pants after a while.
We only interrupted
our creative process for a shared lunch before we continued until
around 3 pm. As the sun had disappeared and dark clouds surrounded us,
we chose not to start another painting. We had just started to pack
our equipment back into the car when it started to rain again.
We checked out
several other areas for painting potential but were not successful.
While most areas were beautiful, they were not interesting enough for
a painting. The best spots were on private properties, or the view
was blocked by houses.
After happy hour, we
were treated to a great demonstration of painting on tissue paper by
our fellow artist Shernya. She uses these painted tissue sheets as
backgrounds and starting points for her acrylic paintings. We were
all so inspired that we would have eagerly tried this process right
away. It is definitely an interesting technique I want to try out.
Sunday started out
sunny again. However, the temperatures had fallen drastically and the
wind was fierce. Hélène and I wanted to brave the cold and went out
anyway. Our first stop was Lac Stukely
where it was so windy that any activity was almost impossible. We
decided to try our luck at the area of the Orford Art
Centre but the only way to deal with the
wind gusts was to paint from the inside of the car. Hélène and I
created a watercolour sketch of the pond before we returned back to
the hotel for lunch.
In the afternoon, we
returned to Marais de la Rivière aux Cérises to paint one of the
small ponds of the area. We even found a somewhat sheltered spot, but
the air was still very cold. Nevertheless, we started painting even
though it was difficult to warm up our hands. I had just finished
blocking in the colours, when it started to snow. At first, we kept
on going but when the snow picked up I just had enough. I was cold to
the bones and just wanted to find shelter in the car. Hélène stayed
not much longer.
We were both ready
for a nice hot cup of chocolate and some downtime at the hotel. It
turned out, we had been the only ones who braved the wind and low
temperatures. Everyone else had stayed in the temporary studio in the
hotel or painted from the car.
Being a plein air
painter certainly has its challenges. However, on a bright sunny day
it is just marvelous to be able to become part of nature. I just love
to listen to the birds and the rushing water, the rustling of the
leaves and the smell of fresh air.
Next week, I will
finish my review of this Plein Air Ensemble painting trip. I hope you
have enjoyed my stories and will return to my blog next week. If you
know anyone who might be interested in my blogs please forward the
link to them. Thank you in advance for helping me reach a bigger
audience.
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