Plein Air Ensemble Spring 2017 Painting Trip to Orford - Part 4

North Hatley

Blog 17

This is the fourth and last part of my travelogue of the Plein Air Ensemble spring trip to Orford-Magog from March 31 to April 4, 2017. Following is my travelogue:

Monday, April 3, 2017

We woke up to sunshine, which was the best weather possible. It was still quite cold in the morning, colder than the previous days, nonetheless we were on the road early. It was actually nice that the ground was frozen – less of a muddy ride.

We headed towards North Hatley on the Chemin des Cantons. Some of the group had gone the day before and were quite intrigued. Therefore, it was no surprise that we saw a whole caravan of cars with well-known faces coming towards us once we got out at the town centre. The town was very charming, but we did not get inspired to paint. Instead, Janis and I went to a little antique store to buy some gifts for our family at home.

We continued our drive towards Massawippi. On our way we saw many groups of deer. One was so brave that we could take a close-up shot. 

Just before the town we turned into the Chemin du Lac where we set up in the bright sunshine to paint a part of Lac Massawippi and the surrounding mountains. 

In the afternoon, we drove up the Chemin North in Hatley, then missed our turn to North Hatley. We continued our drive on the 143 and suddenly saw a sign for another covered bridge. It said the bridge was barred but we still kept on going and found a great spot to paint. However, once we had started we wondered what we were thinking. The composition was extremely difficult. We were joking that it must have been the magic bean salad that had us made so daring. At the end, both Janis and I went away with a painting that was not too bad.

Beppo, wool, 10" x 12"

Again, we just made it in time for happy hour – this time with a fresh baguette. We had our “Show and Tell”, the competition for the most creatively decorated name tag and another wonderful evening of music which encouraged many to sing alone. Some of us played card games. I finished my felted artwork of the dachshund Beppo.

my paintings of the trips - some still need some work

It was wonderful to see that everyone had a great time. Some beautiful art was created and friendships renewed. I am looking forward to the next trip which will be organized by a new team as Hélène and I are too busy with other engagements to keep looking for new venues and organizing the trips. Luckily, one of the couples in the group is taking on this job. I enjoyed the experiences of the work as an organizer, but it will also be nice to go there the next time without any obligations, just to enjoy the painting and the companionship.

Thank you for following my travelogue. I hope you enjoyed the ride. The Orford-Magog area is definitely a place that I can recommend for a trip in any season. “Music Orford” was a great venue. I am sure the group will go back at some time, maybe for one of the fall trips as the area must also look very nice with the fall colours. If you would like more information about “Orford Music”, please go to their website www.orford.mu.