Plein air painting

"On the Rocks"  9x12  oil/2016

 New England weather isn't always cooperative for plein air painting. Some days, however, are perfect and 4th of July was one of those days. There was a clear blue sky, little wind, and it was warm and sunny. We were heading up to North Woodstock, NH for fireworks so decided to go up early and do a little painting. With no clouds, I sought out a spot where there would be shade and shadow patterns. There is access there  to the Pemigewassit River with all of it's  massive rocks, birches and water patterns; just what I wanted. I set up to paint and my husband went over to sit on a rock and read while he waited for me. When I glanced over and saw him sitting there, I knew he would be my subject that day. The colors and composition worked really well without too many modifications. After a quick thumbnail, I worked fast blocking in the value patterns. I knew I would have to settle on a light pattern since the sun angle would be moving and changing while I worked.  I jotted that into my sketchbook. It was a really busy spot with a lot of people swimming in the river. I decided to leave them all out, although many of them came over to chat and watch me paint. So many young kids stood around me that I almost felt like I was back in my classroom giving a demo again. I spent two hours painting and then packed up to leave. My friend, who was downstream painting, came up and we discovered we had both been painting Stu that day. My friend's  painting was from the opposite bank, showing Stu from the back and in the distance. I plan to go back and paint the river another time. I love doing figures in the landscape, but don't often have a "model" willing to sit still for me. For me, getting outdoors to paint is really special and plein air is my favorite kind of painting. I love it!