Greenfield Park Tuesday Evening 6/14/11

I was running late & got there a little after 5pm. Sharon & Donna H. had were there & had already met each other in the parking lot near the pool. They both paint in oil. The parking lot was not full. It was 70 F and sunny.

We grabbed our stuff and started walking east on the blacktop sidewalk around the pond away from the building. We stopped where we could see the birch trees across from us, chose the scene we each wanted, set up our easels and started painting.

I was tired so just sat on the ground and painted from my open guerilla box. I did a quick sketch and then as I only had a 6x6 canvas in my box painted on that. I used cad yel lt, cerulean blue (better suited to florida light) which I had to darken with paynes gray, burnt sienna and white off course.

I like greenfield park as the people are friendly, positive and curious so you get to have brief conversations with people. Plus with the 2 police officers riding bicycles so it felt even safer.

I'm pretty happy how my painting turned out. My little sister even recognized the location I painted when I met up with her to grout tile at mom's house at 7pm. Worked till 10pm. Came home real tired.

Sharon & Donna got the big shapes blocked in then planned to either finish at home or come back another time.

Mallard Lake in Whitnall Park

Man is it a wet day! June and it was only 60F. I got there before Margo so walked on down by the falls. Ground is saturated and water droplets were on everything. Very overcast. Yesterday I wasn't sure if I wanted to go but then I had not painted all week so decided to go. I was glad I did.

It was difficult to figure out what to do as there wasn't any interesting shadows. Shapes and lighting was very subdued. Finally I decided to paint a tree. I kind of like it.

Some grade school kids came by and watched us paint. Then all too soon it was time to return back home.

Going painting tomorrow at mallard lake

While I was getting ready to paint tomorrow. I looked at last thursday's painting with the thought of gessoing over it to reuse the canvas. However, when I looked at it again. It's not so bad, the shapes are right. It's just not finished. So I put it in my paintings to finish pile on my window ledge.

Tomorrow morning will be in the 50s. Hopefully it won't rain. We're going to Whitnall Park's Mallard Lake. We'll park in the parking lot at the top of one of the hills that people sled down in winter. It will probably be just Margo & me tomorrow.

Frame Park 6/2/11

Today's painting did not want to be born. Something else will be painted on top. Some days you wonder why you even bother. But you know why. Even a bad day painting outdoors is worth doing. It's not the result that counts but the process.

Frame Park is a great place to paint. I thought we'd just be painting maybe the stone bridge or the river. But Viv & John came in off white rock avenue and parked by the formal garden. I didn't know Frame park had a formal garden. A modest garden, nicely laid out. Orange poppies, white roses already blooming. There were shaded areas to sit. A crew of young people were planting plants.

I brought my acrylic kit along but couldn't get a picture done. John was done with his watercolor in a hour. Viv was still struggling like me with her water colors. She, like me, had not painted for some weeks. The muse is finicky and you slide back when you don't practice regularly.

Bathrooms were open by the play area and rate an 8/10 on cleanliness.

Weather was perfect. Sunny 70F with slight breeze. No biting insects. Actually I didn't notice any bugs at all.