Capturing the last fall color

When I saw what the temperatures were going to be this week, I called on my friend Diane to come plein-air painting with me. Today it was projected to be 20 degrees c. with no wind; a perfect day to paint. My goal for this painting session was just to paint the fall colors. Not having slept well, I didn't feel ambitious enough to drag out my oil box so watercolors and pastels came only.

After picking Diane up at 9:00am, we headed to St. Vital Park. We had hardly started down the road, when I spied an open reflection of the far river bank in the water. It was absolutely breathtaking because the water was like glass; reflecting the scene in its full color detail.

We went down to the bank and I did two watercolor sketches; one facing the trees behind with the sun coming through the trees and one facing the beautiful reflections in the water. It was a little chilly but I had dressed for it with my Costco down jacket and gloves. Only my big toe was cold. After approximately an hour and a half, we drove around to the duck pond which now has a beautiful new shelter which we had lunch in. Enjoying the warmth, we decided to stay inside and sketch a tree right outside the shelter.

This was a spectacular day and makes you wonder why anyone would want to paint in their studio!

Beautiful pattern of sun and shadows through trees

Diane sketching the above scene

Shirley about to paint what's behind her

Rather abstract pattern of light and shadow

My attempt to capture the glorious fall reflections

A particularly nice shaped tree