To break up some lengthy posts that don't have much to do about painting, I figured I'd blab for a bit about last weekend's painting excursion at Lake Wawasee, Indiana. My wife and I had been planning on spending a weekend at the lake for a while now, as we have some friends with a great little cottage on the water. We ended up planning it out so that we'd be there during the Indiana Plein Air Painters "paint out". I painted 16 paintings over the course of a couple days and only ended up coming home with 4. On top of that, a couple families have invited me back to complete some commissions that I'm pretty excited about. It was a very profitable weekend, but the best part was being with my wife and some great friends. Typically, when I go out for a weekend of painting, even at the busy plein air events, I spend quite a bit of the time by myself...which I actually enjoy quite a bit. But, having my wife along with me while painting is a real treat. She understands that I can't help but paint for most of the day, but she also encourages me to take breaks and relax. We spent a lot of time swimming, taking boat rides, and just enjoying the company. Weekends like that serve as a great reminder that my "work" affords me the opportunity to travel, but my travels should be treated as much like vacation as possible. Thanks to IPAPA, George and Peggy, Bill and Lisa, Courtney and Abby and Barrett...but most of all, my sweet wife, Brittany.
"Phil & Kelly's Place"
oil on canvas
18" x 24"
"Phil & Kelly's Place" is probably my favorite from the weekend. I was pretty happy with all of my paintings, but this one just happened so easily. I love it when you can sort of go "autopilot" on a painting, just slather on the paint and watch it come together. Don't get me wrong, I typically find plenty to struggle on, and I'm usually stubborn enough to work through it and produce things I'm happy with. But nothing beats the satisfaction of producing a decent painting that more or less painted itself.
I'm off to buy some kayaks...
