The French Confection in Sandy Spring

The French Confection Bakery, oils on canvasboard, 14" x 11." Contact artist for price.

Driving towards Olney for the second weekend of the Olney Plein Air the day was gorgeous: clear blue sky, a warm sun chasing away the morning chill. It was also the date of Highland Days, a festival at a tiny community along the way where Herb and I like to shop at Boarman's, an old-fashioned country grocery that has been there forever. Boarman's was decked out with a great display of pumpkins, mums and scarecrows on an old hay wagon--I wished I could paint it for the Olney Plein Air, but it was not one of our locations, so I stopped briefly to take some photos for future reference.

We lived in Sandy Spring for seventeen years, but in all those years I'd never painted anything of the town (I was not into plein air painting in those days), and I wanted to paint something of our old hometown. Part of the problem is, the place isn't exactly scenic: Sandy Spring consists of a post office and a collection of old storefronts, most of them very plain if not ramshackle.

Elena drawing in Sandy Spring

The French Confection is housed in what used to be the old Sandy Spring fire station. After the fire department moved to newer, larger quarters, the old building stood vacant for some time and then the bakery, originally in the Olney shopping center, moved here. They remodelled, installed an awning and created a small patio area in the front, embellishing it with potted plants, that gives the place a much-needed touch of charm.

The French Confection's creations have been favorites of ours for years. Since we had ordered a chocolate Chambord cake for Herb's birthday from them earlier in the week that we had agreed to pick up in the afternoon, what better location to paint?

The architecture was a challenge--I worked on the drawing for quite a while (Herb stopped by & took the photos of me while I was working). I started to paint, and after a while was so oblivious to everything else except my painting, that I never even noticed Herb walking by when he came back to pick up the cake! Afterwards I ate my lunch at one of the little tables in front and then went on to a different location for my afternoon painting.

The Good Earth in Olney

The Good Earth, oils on canvas, 12" x 16." Contact artist for price.

Last Sunday, the second day of the Olney Plein Air, we were to touch base at the Olney Farmer's Market at the Towne Center. I got a rather late start that morning, and didn't have time to finish my painting of one of the produce stands before the vendors began to take down their stands at one o'clock. By that time the clouds had cleared and a warm, sunny afternoon lay ahead, or so it seemed.

The day before while scounting out locations I had driven by The Good Earth Produce and Garden Center, a long-established Olney business. It looked so attractive with colorful displays of mums and seasonal produce it struck me as a great subject to paint. I drove over and set up my easel by the garden entrance, out of the way of the parking lot traffic. From this angle the two gable ends with the afternoon shadows created an exciting composition.

A young lady from the store came out to look while I was drawing, and a number of shoppers stopped for a peek as the painting progressed. At one point the sky clouded up and it looked as if a deluge would strike. A few drops started to fall; I packed up my gear and drove back to the Towne Center to return my "Artist at Work" sign to Bobbie and Tara, the organizers. By the time I got there, the storm had passed over and sky was clearing, so I returned to The Good Earth to finish my painting.

Olney Plein Air

Silver Pond, oils on canvas board, 11" x 14." Contact artist for price.

On the first day of the Olney Plein Air it was very cloudy. It was supposed to start raining around noon, so I figured I'd have about two hours to paint in the morning. The leaden sky was lighter at the horizon--a view with some distance might present great opportunities for atmosphere. The ponds in back of the Olney Aquatic Center seemed the perfect place to paint on such a day--the light would reflect on the pond surface with beautiful, soft colors.

Setting up at the site, it was unseasonably chilly; I was glad I'd brought my three-season jacket along. Fortunately, the rain held off until about two, giving me a couple more hours to work. I needed the time. It was hard to find the right colors to convey the silvery, filtered light upon the lush vegetation, with the leaves of some trees turning slightly bronzy, but I think I managed to communicate the harmony of this place on this day.

The paintings created during the Olney Plein Air Arts Festival will be on exhibit at various local merchants from Oct 11-17, at the Sandy Spring Museum from Oct. 19-23 and will be auctioned off at the Evening Gala/Auction on the 24th.

Back in the Groove

Cloudy Morning on the Severn, oils on board, 9" x 12"

There was a light drizzle falling as I drove off for the first class of the fall session of Lee Boynton's plein air landscape class. I wondered if we would be able to find a dry spot from which to paint, but Lee knows his way around Annapolis so well, I figured he would have some alternative sites where we could stay dry.

As it turned out, by the time the class had convened at Maryland Hall and Lee went over the basics of equipment, palette and painting surfaces, the rain stopped. We caravanned over to Jonas Green Park to set up under the Naval Academy Bridge, where there is a view of the Severn that extends out over the Chesapeake Bay as far as Kent Island on the Eastern shore (the blue strokes at the horizon on the left).

The sky was clearing but there were still some dramatic clouds overhead so I composed my painting to feature the sky and picked one sailboat out of the many lining the shore as a focal point. Simple but elegant-- I am pleased with the result.

Paint Annapolis 2009

Annapolis Roofscape, oils on board, 12" x 9"

This year's Paint Annapolis weekend was grueling for this kid. I got there on Friday at noon just in time for my shift as a volunteer at the MAPAPA tent. During the shift a young man who owned a restaurant called "The Kitchen" came over and said he wanted an artist to paint his restaurant, so after my shift I set off to see if I could accommodate him, hoping to make a sale if my painting turned out well. I spent almost an hour sketching out the building but frankly, the facade was dismal. Even with a liberal dose of doctoring, it was impossible to infuse the composition with any charm, so after almost an hour I gave up on it and moved on. So much time wasted! I remembered there was a lovely garden and doorway on East Street, so I painted there until near sunset, when the mosquitoes started coming out in droves. My friend Sandy from Texas was flying in for a long weekend and her flight had just landed when I rang her.

Last year I'd picked my location well ahead of time for Saturday's Dueling Brushes competition and knew exactly what I would paint, but this year I wasn't that well-prepared. I drove off Saturday morning with no idea of where or what to paint. Approaching downtown, I figured the top level of the parking garage was as good a location as any for a roofscape of the city. There were three other painters set up there already. We all worked assiduously during the time allotted, then rushed off to put our paintings in frames and get them and our easels down to the city dock by noon. The painting above was the result--not very inspiring.

Was it my mood, or was the crowd at the city dock more subdued this year as well? The juror took a long time to make her decisions-- this year the artist awards were gift certificates for art supplies rather than cash prizes. By the time the awards were announced it was nearly two o'clock and the pool of buyers had vanished. The artists started to pack up their gear. As I was leaving a lady looked at my painting and its modest price tag. I looked her in the eye and told her I'd sell it for even less. She said she liked it, but really preferred another painting of the same view done by one of the other artists who had been at the garage with me. His painting was next to mine, but he too had disappeared. She asked for my contact information in case she could not find him and might settle for mine instead.

After wolfing my brown bag lunch I set out to do another painting--I still didn't have anything worthy of the members' show. The afternoon was gorgeous, but by this time I was in a bit of a funk--tired and discouraged. I went up on State Circle and started a new painting (always hoping that the next one will be the one). I wanted to hear Kenn Backhaus' lecture on plein air painting at St. John's at five, and time slipped by too quickly-- there wasn't time to finish. I would have to enter the doorway with the garden in the members' show or not show at all (in retrospect, this might have been a wiser choice).

Sunday morning I drove back to Annapolis to deliver my framed painting to Maryland Hall by ten, then swung around to Olney on the way back to pick up the artist registration packet for the Olney Plein Air coming up next weekend. Hopefully this event will be a little more relaxed, as it's closer to home and we have two weekends to paint, with another week to turn in the framed paintings.

Back at the house I had brunch with Herb (Sandy was off seeing other old friends) and then drove back to Annapolis at four for the reception at Maryland Hall. I was very pleased that my teacher, Lee Boynton, received second prize among the juried artists. There were some wonderful paintings here, but the red dots seemed sparser than last year.

To top off what turned out to be a lackluster weekend, on the way out I twisted my ankle on a step and fell on the concrete walk. A gentleman behind me kindly helped me back onto my feet. By evening the bruises and swelling were so painful I couldn't walk. Thank heaven I'd arranged to take today off from work--I need to recover.

Yellow Lady Slipper

Yellow Lady Slipper, watercolor, 14" x 10." $150 unframed.

A few springs ago my friend Linda and I explored the Thompson Wildlife Management Area in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. We were hoping to hike through the stands of 'Millions of Trilliums' that are unique to this particular location. As we trampled through woodlands transformed by the magic of spring, we were delighted to find several small stands of Yellow Lady Slipper (Cypriedum calceolus) and another unusual orchid, Showy Orchis (Orchis spectabilis) growing near the paths.

We returned the following spring to paint the Yellow Lady's Slipper from life, but my field sketch did not capture the graceful lines of the plant: its banded leaves, the spiral curling of the two upper petals. I put away my sketch for future reference.

This weekend I dug it out along with my photos and painted this watercolor as a companion piece to the Ghost Flowers. Accurate drawing of its complex shapes is essential to bring the plant to life.

The Will to Create Returns

Ghost Flower, watercolor, 14" x 11." $150 unframed.

The will to create returned this weekend after weeks of illness. It was fun to finally paint these Ghost Flower plants (also known as Indian Pipe--Monotropa uniflora is the botanical name). Herb and I first found this unusual plant during a walk in the Rachel Carson Forest preserve near our old home in Sandy Spring a number of years ago. In those days I didn't have a digital camera so the best photos I could take were not close-up enough to reveal all the details of this fascinating plant that has no chlorophyl, but feeds on mycorhizal fungi growing on the roots of other forest trees.

That first time I actually picked one specimen to sketch back at the house and discovered that the plants turn black shortly after being picked, so the specimen became useless. The plant is only about 5-6 inches high, so it's not easy to spot. Over the years we've looked for them in early summer when they bloom, but had never found them growing as profusely as the first time we discovered them.

This year after a very wet late spring, we went out to look for them again and there were hundreds of them emerging from the forest floor! I had a marvelous time taking photos. This particular clump was so fresh and lush it just begged to be painted. I'm now hot on the trail to find other related species to photograph & paint.

The Obligatory Maine Lighthouse

Hendricks Head Lighthouse, oils on canvas panel, 9" x 12"

On the last day of the workshop I was still very sick but decided to go out for one more painting. Lee had selected a location on the east side of Southport where there was a wonderful view of this lighthouse. A map identifies it as Hendricks Head on the Sheepscot River. The light had two baffles that you can see at right angles to the lantern.

How could one be in Maine without painting a lighthouse? We artists set up along a tiny beach with these great exposed rocks and tidal pools. I set up my easel so I could sit down by the edge of the road, as close to my car as possible since I had little energy to go far. Others ventured farther out on the rocks to get a better view.

By noon fleecy clouds were gathering in the sky and the incoming tide was starting to cover the rocks. At one point while Lee was giving me suggestions another student yelled, "Look out, your easel is floating away!" Sure enough, the water was starting to cover the rocks where he had his set up.

We had a quick lunch break and continued painting while the sky took on a more threatening look. By one-thirty we packed up and managed to get our gear in the cars as the first raindrops fell. The rainstorm eventually passed and the sky cleared but it was a little late for another painting. We left early the next morning for the long drive back home. I hope I'll have another opportunity to paint in Maine when I am my usually healthy self.