Part of what I love about summer is taking dozens and dozens of pictures of images that I want to paint when I retreat from the first snow storms into my studio. Studio work is wonderful fun but it is also true that I like to paint small works like the calf that I painted on Washington Island in my previous post, while I’m on the road. I love doing those quick sketches.

The beginning of August found me at a historical encampment on Lake Michigan in Kenosha, Wisconsin. That was an invigorating event for me and I enjoyed collecting photos of the lake. From there I traveled to a lovely farm west of the twin cities in Minnesota to regroup with family between events. The next leg of the vacation entailed progressing farther north and settling on the far North Shores of Lake Superior, still within Minnesota, at the Grand Portage National Monument.
The painting of the Great Hall I show here was done sitting inside the fort walls on the Friday we were there. I know, traditional plein aire would be far more loose, gestural, and quick but I was using smaller brushes and just having vacation fun.
Look for a lot of work coming from this summer, in the year ahead.

I can’t believe the summer is flying by so incredibly fast.

From May to September I often find myself burning up vacation time making long weekends so I can attend living history events, or take simple road trips for fun and fishing. That boils down to shooting a lot of pictures that will be translated into paintings when I “come inside” this fall.

Not to imply I don’t do any plein aire sketches on the road, but they often don’t warrant a lot of fuss here and I rarely spend much time at the computer. Summers are mostly a time of pure input but here is a sweet little sketch you might enjoy.  

I had a great time painting and talking about art this weekend. It is always gratifying to hear what people have to say about my work – it’s uplifting and informative.
There were 6 paintings at the show this weekend that were painted in the last two months and in the newer style. Having them all in the show made it especially useful to get reactions. 
Even more helpful was the ongoing feedback as I worked on a painting on site. The ram in the foreground was the painting that I did on Saturday and it turned out to be a perfect demonstration and conversation piece. You can find a larger image of the completed work in the new gallery, Flora, fauna and extras.

Being in a position to paint while talking to the public is such a joy it’s hard to explain. I get to paint, true fun to be sure, but to also talk about the history of women in the arts, my tools, my thinking process, and the joys of being a librarian and researching all of the details necessary to portray my persona in history. It is wonderful. The perfect storm.

I am in Platteville, Wisconsin this weekend working in the field, in another time period.

For the last month I have enjoyed a series of small historical encampment vacations that have been relaxing and refreshing. Part of what has made the time so calming for me was that I took my paints and some canvas along.

Since I enjoyed painting en plein aire when I was in Washington Island earlier in the summer, I decided to continue painting these quick oil sketches at the next two places. The first encampment was on the western bank of Lake Michigan in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Sunrise was amazing each morning and really fast changing, demanding focused speed to capture the light and clouds.

The next  encampment was on the North shore of Lake Superior at the Grand Portage National Park service site. This camp is an annual gathering of historians who put up canvas tents for a quick 5 days of early fur trade rendezvous.

What serious fun. I have tended to paint slowly and meticulously with a great deal of detail for many years and painting in this impressionistic style is so freeing and calming that it is having a good influence on the style of my overall treatment of the subjects. It is loosening me up nicely and helping me pick up speed. That is all good.

This spring has been such a whirlwind of fun that I haven’t stopped and written like I should. I can’t bring myself to apologize too profusely because I am more of a painter than a writer after all, but I admit I have been neglectful again.
Since May, I have had a number of travel opportunities where I have taken pictures for future paintings, lectured on the rich heritage of the Arts in America, painted on historical sites in historical attire, and just plain had fun.

This picture was taken over the 4th of July while I was working (playing) on Washington Island, Wisconsin. Although painting en plein air is not correct for the time period I represent (Regency in 1803) it is showy, pulls people in, and provides a perfect segue to talk to them about the impact and chronology of art movements, evolution of medium, and the importance of art in society both in the past and today.

Working on this painting has certainly been fun. The 2 pictures I am adding here were both taken on Sunday, later in the day as I painted and talked to the public. I have cropped the people I was talking to out of respect for their privacy but you can see that the trees were developing with each few hours. I apologize for the delay in posting them.
Through the course of that day I got to a point where I might estimate only another good day to be able to devote to the piece, and I could get it done.
Sadly, it is rarely that easy to stay at the easel. Once I got back home I put the work on my home easel and haven’t been able to touch it since. No, there isn’t any painting block or lack of muse at play here. I don’t tend to react to that kind of impediment. It is simply a matter of the demands that come along in life that are a great blend of business and pleasure and the painting got bumped to a back burner. I have been on a family vacation, to a national library conference, and to an indoor music festival. If all goes well, perhaps I can get a chance to paint this coming weekend and if I do, it would be wonderful.
Time will tell.

Today was a wonderful and fruitful day at the fair.

My setup is a new one, using professional panels that a friend has loaned me for my next 2 shows. I love them already and know I must consider making this move permanently.

I really had a lot of fun talking with people about art and working on a new large scale canvas. People love to watch artists paint. The new layout draws people in to see the art because they want to get behind the canvas and see me paint. I sold an original and two prints today and enjoyed seeing old friends and making a few new connections. Best show day ever. I SO love doing this. Can hardly wait for tomorrow.