Tuesday, January 14, 2014

Plein Air in Progress


Nina Johansson inspired me with the recent post to her blog (http://www.ninajohansson.se) entitled "First Snow of 2014". There she is in Stockholm Sweden, continuing to sketch outdoors. So I spent part of the day today in my backyard, sketching and painting. The birds chirped. The squirrels hopped. Even the goldfish in the pond rose to the surface. I was bundled up for the 8 degrees C but found myself concentrating so hard on my perspective drawing and getting the dark paint dark enough, that I started sweating!

I also had a flash of understanding. I've been wondering whether to be offended or somehow shamed into action by a poster stuck on the pole at the end of my driveway, advertising the services of an expert gardener. You see, I always leave garden clean up until spring. My flower beds are a mass of blacken stems, fronds, and leaves, all a soggy, rotting mass. Seeing the flurry of birds flitting and feeding amongst the toppled vegetation today, I felt vindicated in leaving the tidy up until I see new shoots popping through a month or two from now. Oh, sorry mom. I know spring comes a bit later for you.

And stay tuned for the finished painting.

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