Friday, October 9, 2015

Plein Air Practice

Plein Air is a French word meaning to work from and in nature.  Toward the end of September I decided to take advantage of an opportunity in the early hours of the morning by setting aside one hour to paint along the river.  When the weather is good I walk down to Pixie Park or stop at the Daughters of the American Revolution rose garden which is slightly up the hill, set the alarm on my phone for one hour and paint the vista before me.  The dew point as the sun comes up affects how quickly or how slowly the paint dries so I am often waiting for a section to dry before I can continue on.  So nothing gets to the point of "finished" but that's not the point.  It's the challenge of figuring out how to capture a sunrise which is over as soon as it begins. 
 
 

 
 
Watercolor in a watercolor moleskin journal.  What I'm liking about whatever paper they used to make the journal with, it kind of puckers a bit when it's wet but as it dries it returns to a flat state.  And an interesting observation, each sunrise is unique.  Makes it fun.  

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