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Adventures in the "Plain Air!" (part 3)
A plein air success...
This is a watercolor I painted at Pond Hill Farm. I was drawn to the warm early morning light and how it was shining off the black cow's back, and how the friendly cow followed the flower picker along as she picked bouquets for the market. The lady who purchased the painting said that when she looked at the painting she could feel the warm summer sun, smell the flowers and even hear the crickets chirping!
Beeing in the present moment....
A couple of summers ago I was invited to an "artists' tea" at a lavender farm. Once again I brought too much equipment, art supplies, easels, etc. A couple of artist friends were there
with their tiny sketchbook journals and microscopic paint palettes for travel painting. They seemed to have some sort of competition going on to see who could pack the lightest. They hauled out their tiny palettes and playing card-sized sketchbooks to see if they could outdo each other. Curiously, the smallest paint palette had little paint half tins set into one of those "curiously strong" tiny metal peppermint tins. They even had retractable brushes and tiny water jugs!
After the paint palette duel, I hauled my stuff over to the gardens to see what would happen.
The bees at the farm are very calm and sweet, as a result of the medicinal effect of the lavender plants. As I settled into the gardens to paint, they would land on my hair, my hands and on the painting. The combination of the meditative buzzing all around me, the warm sun and the awareness of the moment were very relaxing.
After a lovely tea of strawberry preserves, lemon curd, scones, lavender tea and lavender cookies, the host announced that each artist would be standing up and talking about themselves and their artwork (only if they wanted to). I managed to get through the dreaded public speaking, and even snagged a commission referral from another artist!
Plainly, plein air painting seems to be more about the experience: being present, creative inspiration, and letting go of attachment to the end result. The finished artwork will either be successful surprise, or a spark of an idea for another creation!
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