Different Strokes 8" x 8" oil

This painting was done at low tide on a rocky Maine beach during a session with Liz Wiltzen. Liz came all the way to Maine to do a three day plein air class. We focused on the basics which meant we did a lot of exercises that make you want to pull your hair out while you are doing them, but afterwards, when it starts to sink in you think, "Wow! That was awesome!"

So I don't want to give away her whole class, you'll just have to sign up yourselves to get all the nuggets, but this one was my favorite. We were asked to do a painting in one hour using only 20 strokes. Yep that's right. So you really had to think about what color you wanted to mix and scoop up a big bunch so you could cover the space in just one stroke. So for example the sky is one stroke - as long as you don't lift your brush off the canvas it's one stroke.

Try it some time. Very fun.

A Slice of Vermont 9" x 12" oil

This was done on our last day of painting at Comstock Farm B&B. We had painted her earlier in the week and we all wanted to return. It was pretty overcast but I just loved the early morning light on the mountains.

Then in the afternoon we return to our first painting site and I painted from inside this huge, empty barn, looking out towards the garden. I loved this workshop with Susan Abbot. I think I left a big piece of my heart behind in Vermont.

Shack 8" x 10" oil

This was done on the grounds of a beautiful home in Vermont. There were so many things to paint it was hard to decide. I was really struck by the angles in the shack up against the beautiful view of the field in the background. Again we had an amazing blue sky with incredibly large , fluffy white clouds drifting by. Plein air painting paradise.

In town - 6" x 8" oil

In the afternoon on the second day we painted in town. It was really hot but we toughed it out. I was thinking of all the Edward Hopper paintings we had looked at in the studio while I painted this.

Dirt Road 8" x 8" oil

This is probably my favorite painting from the workshop in Vermont. I really like pathways and roads, so this view was very intriguing to me. I also like the shadows. Very fun to paint.

Lower Pond - Day One afternoon

So after an awesome lunch at Susan's we went back out to paint. This home was a beautiful estate with two different ponds and several buildings, as well as fields and views of the mountains. It was very hot and muggy, so standing by the water was the only place to catch a slight breeze. Again we used just three colors and white.

Susan Abbott workshop - Vermont

This was our first day painting on location. We were asked to choose a scene that really excited us. We could use only three colors plus white - alizarin crimson, thalo blue and cadmium yellow. I am used to a limited palette but choosing a scene was tough because we were surrounded by beauty on all sides. I did this hill second with the blue sky and enormous puffy white clouds - which we had all week.
This was my first painting. This was the view from the driveway. How about looking at this every morning while you are brushing your teeth! Susan also talked a lot about color. We were asked to push the color and use complements next to one another to get that zing that she has in her work. Both my paintings were small so I was able to do two that morning.