I haven't been outside painting lately. Since this autumn, I have traveled back and forth to B.C. to help my parents sell their home of 40 years and then, a couple of months later, unfortunately, my dad at age 91 had a fall, slipped into a coma and passed away. I am also back in school and with all my responsibilities painting has taken a back seat for awhile.
With everything that has been going on, I forgot to post this painting, which won 2nd place this fall at The Ontario Plein Air Society Quick Draw Painting Challenge, held at J.E.H. MacDonald House in Thornhill. The artists had 3 hours to create a work of art on the spot and then the entries were judged with the public voting. It was fun to participate and I was thrilled to be awarded a prize. The extra challenge with this painting (which I painted right in front of J.E.H. MacDonald House, looking toward the parking lot) was that I basically had to paint it twice since the sun came out at about the 1 1/2 hour mark and the lighting was completely different. I used a palette knife at the end for the thicker lights.
We still don't have any snow to speak of here in Toronto, Ontario and it is the middle of January although it is still pretty chilly painting outside at the moment!
I liked
this article, published by Artist Daily which gives tips for fair weather plein air painters to keep their skills sharp over the winter. If you live an inclement part of the world like I do, you ought to read this asap!
My favorite tip from the article is to paint from life INDOORS. Still life has a lot of advantages over plein air in that the lighting and subject don't change so it can be a great time to improve your observation skills and maybe become a little faster at capturing what catches your eye when you do get back out there in the spring.
Painting shoes is so much fun - they are really little sculptured pieces of art, which I believe is partly why women love them so much!
This class, led by the very talented North Carolina portrait and gallery artist and instructor, Rich Nelson, consisted mainly of teenagers (plus a couple of exceptions) with the youngest participant being only ten years of age.
and founder of The Ontario Plein Air Society, Zan Barrage) for a mini metal box you can fill with pans of color. Perfect for travel this summer!
A fun time painting and hanging out at Christine's Kitchen with Ian Roberts and a gang of intrepid plein air painters!
Mrs. Sathmary's class paying rapt attention to my spiel about painting with watercolors.
Well known Canadian landscape painter and writer Robert Genn sent out his most recent twice-weekly letter today in which he talks about plein air painting by helicopter in the Bugaboo mountains of British Columbia. I was fortunate to be able to participate in that trip in September 2010.
I have fond memories of painting at this serene spot this past summer, even though shortly after this picture was taken, I discovered my battery was dead! 
At the opening of the exhibit of The Ontario Plein Air Society, all in attendance very much enjoyed hearing Susan MacDonald, niece of Thoreau and grand-niece of J.E.H. MacDonald speak about her experiences growing up around The Group of Seven.
The inaugural show of The Ontario Plein Air Society was a smashing success, with $7,040 in sales (including one of mine) and a steady flow of interested visitors throughout the weekend.
The gorgeous color of the water was what attracted me to stand in the wind and end up with sand covering all my paints! Plein air painting is such a challenge.
I discovered a neat trick while painting this piece - for short sighted plein air painters, just take off your glasses when you are massing in areas!
This piece does not need a frame - just hang it on the wall.
In honor of back to school, an apple for the teacher. I really enjoyed painting the clear glass plate.
So, I turned around and painted the view in the opposite direction, trying to channel John Singer Sargent. The light changed every couple of minutes which made capturing anything at all rather difficult, but I loved every minute!
OPAS,
please click on the image above.