Plein Air Buddies Paint Out

Huntington Creek Lake, oils on canvas  panel, 11" x 14."

A group of artist members from the Plein Air Artists website called Plein Air Buddies MD/DC/VA/PA/WV got together this past Sunday for our first paint-out. The group was formed by PA artist Jeanean Songco Martin with the idea of providing opportunities for its members to get together on a monthly basis to paint at a different location each time. I had suggested the Catoctin Mountain area for us because I'd hiked and painted there a few years ago and remembered how lovely it was in the fall; in addition, it is easily accessible from PA on US Rte. 15. Jeanean remembered the waterfalls at Cunningham Falls State Park as another beautiful site for painting.

Our outing took place last Sunday and what a gorgeous day! Bright and sunny, with just a touch of crispness in the air. The season was more advanced in the mountains than in the lowlands and many trees sported bright fall colors. I had a bit of a late start, despite packing my gear the night before, and by the time I arrived at the lake, Jeanean and two other painters were already set up and painting. In fact, their paintings looked to be fairly well-developed.

I walked around the picnic grounds looking at other views, but the spot where Jeanean and her friends were seemed to have the nicest, so I joined them on the strip of beach. Shortly after, a few other painters arrived and set up near us. I think we were about eight in all. We all worked until a little past noon and then brought out our lunches to eat while we showed our paintings and got to know each other.

Artists share the morning's paintings: (l to r, Jeanean, Carol, Mary Ann, and unamed artist)

 After lunch, we organized how to get ourselves and our gear to the falls. The trail from the lake is about a mile's hike through the woods, a little too long for carrying all the gear we artists usually pack. There is a small parking area for the handicapped close to the falls, and a couple of the artists had legitimate permits, so we car-pooled up there to take advantage of this. I rode up with Paul Tooley, a wonderful watercolorist from Braddock Heights, near Frederick.

The falls were swarming with people on this warm afternoon, many climbing up and down the rock faces and crossing the creek--it was hard to find a quiet spot where one could set up away from the crowd. I got off the boardwalk and stepped on some rocks over the stream to reach a quieter spot at the base of the falls, where I could feel less hemmed in.

Cunningham Falls (work in progress), oils on linen, 12" x 9"

 Painting the falls was far more challenging than painting the lake--difficult to compose and render so that the water looks like water, and the jumble of rocks gives a sense of the folds where the water spills down. The very high horizon of this piece is something I've not dealt with before. I didn't get a chance to finish this painting, and as the others were wanting to leave, I wrapped it up when I had this much down, hoping to have a chance finish it later. I think it needs a few people on the rocks to give it scale, and many other touches, I'm not sure what all at this point.

I had not realized just how tired I was until I got home, but it was such an inspiring day! Thank you, Jeanean, for planning it and for the opportunity to meet and paint with you and the other artists. I hope we'll do another paint-out real soon.

If you are interested in joining us, become a member of the Plein Air Artists website--it's free--and sign up for the group Plein Air Buddies MD/DC//VA/PA/WV.

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Here is the finished version of the Cunnigham Falls painting. It only took me a few weeks to get around to it; I added some laciness to the foliage and a few figures to give some scale to the falls. The color key of the painting wasn't changed, but this version was photographed on a sunny day so overall the painting looks warmer (the study was photographed on a cloudy day).

Cunningham Falls, oils on linen panel, 12" x 9."