Painting Trip to Kamouraska 2017 - Part 6

Blog 44

This is the last part of my travelogue about the fantastic trip we had to the Kamouraska region this year. I am so happy to have had this opportunity again. What could be better than sitting in nature painting on a sunny day? 

Friday, September 15, 2017

"Stages if Life", acrylic, 11" x 14

After we took our group picture and Janis left for Ottawa, Hélène and I went to the Chemin de la Madone in St-André, where we painted the flowers from the flower and vegetable garden of the school Les Pèlerins. Sharon and Bill joined us to paint the wonderful sunflowers. Sharon also painted a beautiful red canna. Every school should have a garden like this. The students were impressed with our work. It was so great to see their interest and to answer all the questions they had.

"The Tide is Going out", acrylic, 11” x 14”

In the afternoon, we all went to the Chemin de la Grève East in St-Denis, where we painted the St. Lawrence River with the tide going out. Close to the river, we could definitely feel that temperatures had gone down. I was happy to have my winter coat and scarf. Unfortunately, the spot that we had picked to get shelter from the wind turned out to be close to a sewer; at least that’s how it smelled after the wind died down. Moreover, the mosquitoes were more than happy to get company, not very much to our liking. However, the scenery was breathtaking. The water was an amazing green of old glass bottles.

As Janis had taken my oil paints, so that I can take Hélène home with me, I painted with OPEN Acrylics. I had brought a small travel set and was quite impressed with the performance. When I first bought them, I was not too happy with them as the coverage is not the same as with the regular acrylic paints. However, since this summer, I have taken my set with me on a couple of occasions and have taken this fact into consideration, sometimes adding some regular paints and OPEN medium. You need more layers than with the regular acrylic paints but my paints stayed workable for hours even in the sun and with wind.

This evening, for dinner we had the second set of leftovers. The chili with fresh baguette from the bakery followed by their wonderful shortbread cookies with nuts and ice cream were just perfect after a full day of painting.

Now, our equipment is already in the car. We are looking back on a fantastic week. The weather could hardly have been better. We did not spent a single day indoors. It was sunny and warmer than ever. We enjoyed each other’s company and the good food we shared. Cooking together a frittata was lots of fun.

Tomorrow morning, we only have to pack our personal belongings and clean out everything from the kitchen before we can get on the road. We will certainly stop at the bakery one more time. Then we have to say goodbye for another year, but we will be back next September.