First time out this spring

Like many places in Canada and the States, we have had an unusually long and bitterly cold winter. The leaves are now just finally coming out on the trees which is a particularly magical time of year. There's something special about that moment when the branches of the trees are still visible but are now cloaked in a haze of bright yellow green.

Diane and I met at her place out near Birds Hill and upon seeing the stand of trees which included one particularly nice treeing that was leafing out, we agreed that there was no reason to look elsewhere. After setting up our easels, we started by having a coffee and a fresh baked muffin.

It was nice to see that after several months of not touching my oils, I still managed to remember to bring along all that I needed. I do have a list which I keep in my bag to double-check that I haven't forgotten anything important. I did read recently about one painter's experience of dealing with not having any white paint with him. He substituted silver and had some unexpectedly good results. It just goes to show you that we are good at improvising and we can always make something work. It also helps to paint with a buddy so that you can borrow what you haven't remembered to bring.

Before tackling our subject, I made a sketch of the scene; making notations about colors or lighting details that were important if the light shifted too dramatically before we finished. I worked on a panel support that was prepared with a venetian red acrylic gesso. This is rather strong for a spring scene but I was still happy with the result. I worked very patiently and slowly, taking care that I had mixed the right color and value that I wanted. I also used a new Italian palette knife which worked very well. It was a much better size for the scale of painting I do outside and very flexible. It also saved me from mucking up my brushes with paint because of using them to mix paint rather than a knife. I think I am getting smarter about painting and am relying more on my observations.

After lunch we moved indoors as the temperature was around 30 degrees C. When I left to go home, it poured rain making it difficult to drive the first kilometer or so. The first set of lights were also blinking red due to the moisture causing a huge backup of traffic but it didn't spoil my good mood having had such an enjoyable painting day with Diane.


Might use as a study for a larger studio painting

Diane's backyard view - beautiful!