This morning I watched an amazing video that plopped me right back into my memories of Snow Hill, where I painted last week for the Paint Snow Hill Event. It was a video of an artist out and about with his sketchbook and it compared his sketches to his subject, including his dog.
It made me think of the dedication of the artists that paint plein air. It's not something we can explain, it's an unbridled freedom to be out painting in the open air, in the elements, with the birds, trees, cars passing by, water smacking up on a oyster shell beach, us against whatever Mother Nature deals out.
Many of us can tell you tales and adventures of plein air painting. When you are out of the studio, stuff happens that you don't always have control over....like the wind. You can't make it stop, you have to always find ways of managing to deal with whatever obstacles are thrown your way, and keep a sense of humor. The big thing is to not let Mother Nature throw you from your game, to not let yourself get frustrated.
I am a pastelist and there have been times when disaster happens and a box falls to the ground thanks to a boost from Mother Nature....they aren't like oils, they break into bits and dust if they hit a hard surface. My friends have expressed awe in my composure the last time it happened, I just told them that hubby says not to let it ruin my day. But that's part of what painting plein air is about, it's about maintaining your composure, painting by expressing the emotion of the scene in front of you, tuning out the elements so much that you don't feel the cold in your bones. It's just you, and the painting in front of you, your medium and your subject.
This painting is, simply titled, "Pink House...." I've lost count how many times I have passed this house over the years of painting in Snow Hill. Late Friday afternoon, hubby and I drove through town to find a painting spot. Since it was cold, windy and overcast, there was no sense in painting down by the water for those glorious sunset paintings. No sun, LOL. I went inland for warmth and the wind was a little better. I saw this house and loved it.
I like to challenge myself. To paint a subject I don't normally paint just to prove to myself that I can do it. But that is the whole challenge and fun of being a plein air painter. It's all about stepping up to the plate and taking that swing. I used to coach soccer and we had a saying that you only miss 100% of the shot's you DON'T take. You don't have a chance of scoring if you don't take a shot. It's the same with painting. It's about challenging yourself to take yourself to the next level. I love solving problems and challenges and this house had challenges for painting in pastel.
I donned my down parka for this little gem, it was darn cold at this point. I stood out in that cold with a wind that made it feel a lot cooler and I painted this house for the sheer fun of painting this beautiful house. I had to make some edits because of limitations (the light was getting dimmer), and I had to keep reminding myself that I wasn't doing a portrait of this house, I was doing a painting of how the house made me feel about it.
I liked this house because it was pink, it was pretty and it looked happy and though I was cold to the bone, this house made me happy to paint it.
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