I was back in the cemetery at 8:30 this morning, setting up my paints in the same spot I found on Tuesday. This time I took a few minutes to explore those mysterious grave makers and discovered that each one has a raised name and Mason's emblem. No dates. And each name is different, so it doesn't appear to be a family. The mystery deepens.
The painting was tricky to work on because instead of Liquin, I had used walnut oil, which doesn't dry as quickly. So I was painting wet into wet, trying to add a bit of definition in some areas and some bolder brush strokes in other areas.
It was a big day for visitors - two grave diggers in an adjacent area; a sweet lady taking a walk; a young deer; numerous spiders; a dragonfly and other flying things. Nevertheless, I felt alone, serene, and totally absorbed in my painting.
This was the last painting session for my plein air class; on Tuesday, we'll meet indoors for a final critique. But I plan to continue the plein air work, along with the studio improvisations of similar scenes.
In the Daily Art album, I'm posting "Cemetery Row," as well as one of my studio improvisations of a plein air painting I posted before.
Those are really nice! I have a terrible time with greens and painting outdoors - I think I'm too impatient to work out the subtleties. I especially like Cottonwood Park.
Posted by: Lesley | March 10, 2010 at 11:57 AM