Plein Air Ensemble Spring 2017 Painting Trip to Orford - Part 3

Blog 16

This is the third 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:

Sunday, April 2, 2017

We were happy to see that the snow had stopped overnight. However, due to the snowfall, it was very hard to find spots where we could set up our equipment and paint safely. Janis and I decided to go back to the Narrow Bridge in Fitch Bay because we feared that the warmer weather would soon cause the rest of the ice on the river to thaw which would take away part of the charm of this winter scene. A couple of our fellow artists followed us.

While the others left around lunch time because they needed to warm up, we stayed a little longer. I was quite comfortable which might have had something to do with the fact that I wore heated socks. I did not really feel the heat, but my feet were not frozen. Janis even had enough time to finish a second painting. By the time we left in the early afternoon, the sun had come out and it was wonderful to soak in the sunshine.

We tried a second time to get to the quay in Georgeville but missed the small one-way street again. So we had to take a little detour to make it back. While the view was beautiful and we could see the monastery in St-Benoit-du-Lac, it was too vast an area to give a justice in a painting. We took some pictures then went up the Chemin de Lagoon Point. From there you could see the beautiful scenery through the rows of trees. It was breathtaking but again nothing you can capture in a painting. We saw a couple of deer that did not seem to worry at all about the passing car.

We were already on our way back down the road when we saw the beautiful barn on the Chemin d'Elephant that is now a gallery. We followed the road and we were just absorbing the beautiful landscape shining in the sun. When we returned to the barn, the light was just right to make the scene really inspiring. We did not have much time, but we could not pass this opportunity. At the end, we did not even have time to buy a baguette. We arrived at the house basically minutes before the start of the happy hour, setting everything up before we hurried to get changed.

In the evening, we watch a couple of clips of Robert Birch before our great musicians jammed for us. Some of us took the chance to practice their drawing skills. It was just a wonderful evening.

To read the last part of my travelogue please return to my blog next Friday. If you know think anyone in your circle of friends and family members would enjoy my blog, please forward it. Thank you for helping me to increase my audience.