Day 189 Center Lake

This is Center Lake in Custer State Park, SD. I loved the way the sun was hitting the grass and the edge of the trees, great late afternoon light. There were swimmers in the lake but I decided to stop and not add them. Have I mentioned that it was 99 degrees today? Really, really hot. I'm not complaining, I love summer.

This was painted sitting at my picnic table at the campground. The lake was just down the road but I didn't want to haul my gear. I'm working on remembering how a place looks and feels and using the reference photo in a limited way. The goal is to capture the feeling of the place, not necessarily how realistic I can paint it. That's the direction I'm headed.

Center Lake

8x10 pastel

Day 188 Bison Blobs

I painted at Wind Cave National Park today in South Dakota. Lots of wonderful sky and grasslands - and tons of buffalo. I mean bison. A small girl who had just been through a ranger talk told me they are called Bison, NOT buffalo. Tomato ... tomato. Apparently, it's interchangeable.

There was a very cute calf and mom right in front of me but they moved off before I even got done with the sky. I took lots of photos to paint from later though. One group of visitors parked next to me were so concerned for one of the babies lying flat on the ground, sleeping perchance? They were convinced he was dead. Convinced.

As the herd moved off, the mom finally nudged the baby, he popped up and joined the rest. The crowd burst into high fives and yee haws. I asked a ranger about it and she rolled her eyes and said the rangers are constantly flagged down by well meaning tourists worried that a calf is dead. She said they are always just sleeping. She had stopped to tell me to dash for the car in case they moved toward me. Yep, already knew that.

While I painted, Ed rode 30 miles through the park to our camp spot in Custer State Park. Bison are unfazed by the numerous cars that drive by, but a bicycle? One bull grunted at him as he was going by, Ed grunted back and the dang bull gave him a few charging steps. Suddenly Ed was pedaling much faster and text me later that he would not be riding back down highway 87 to our meeting spot. Fun day all around.

Bison Blobs

8x10 oil

Painting close to the car for a reason

Open range means don't be stupid and get too close

Day 187 Rusty

Today I was in Pawnee National Grasslands in north-eastern Colorado. The hubby went for a 30 mile bike ride while I painted. A plan that we hope is going to work well for the next couple of weeks.
It was great getting back outside. I'm rusty. A huge wind gust took out my easel and pastels within the first 5 minutes. Then I remembered to weigh my easel. Good news, no pastels broke as I was standing on a nice soft ant hill.

The mailboxes and rusty wagon wheel had a lot of character ... and there was a place to pull off the road without getting run down by the truckers. I wonder about those 3 families at the end of this remote road, are they friends? Have they lived there forever? Wondering.
Also, a group of tiny ants are currently confused ... racing around the inside of my car wondering how they crossed two state lines this afternoon and ended up in South Dakota.

Rusty
8x10 pastel

Day 186 Floral on the Fourth

This small floral painting was the closest I could come to July 4th fireworks. I'm hitting the road for some well needed plein air painting. I'm not sure about internet access but hopefully I'll catchup on my paintings and my posts. As I've fallen further behind over the last several weeks I'm still ever hopeful!

Floral on the Fourth
8x8 oil

Day 185 Lost in Joy

I've spent some time reflecting on loss this weekend. I have several friends deep in grief and loss, my heart aches for them. Then there is mine, it is abundantly large and multi-faceted.
I have found the secret for me for healing, for happiness, for joy. I paint. They don't always turn out how I want and I always want to be better. But it's so big - I get lost in it.

I am so full of joyful painting nothing can stop me. Here are more flowers to get you through any storm that comes your way.

Lost in Joy
20x20 oil
sold

Day 184 Socked In

Since I was buried in a landscape of clouds over the last two days - I gave in and painted them. It's unusual to be socked in like this. Normally, the clouds blow through, we have short intermittent rain showers with lots of sun in between. I've spent many July 4th weekends watching the clouds roll past Lake Granby but the last couple of days, the sun was on vacation. I'm still struggling to keep up, I feel like a fast moving cloud myself. Maybe I'll go back to those bright flowers tomorrow.

Socked In
20x20 oil

Day 183 Rose Colored Glasses

I think my last post said something silly like I was embracing my crazy life. Not so much now. I'm in the middle of a move and there were some complications. My new studio is not set up, my old studio is a mess and I just couldn't paint. Sometimes things don't go as planned. I could have squeezed out an hour here and there but I certainly couldn't find the joy in it - and who wants to see non-joyful paintings?

I painted most of today and it felt good to get back to the easel. I planned to paint plein air but it was a gray rainy day. I have these great wildflowers blooming - and the pink skyrocket and wild roses really stood out. So even though it was gray out I chose to see things today through rose colored glasses. I'm going for a hike in the morning, I wonder what I will see to paint?

Rose Colored Glasses
11x14 oil