Plein Aire at Fort Saint Clair

Stone Bridge at Fort Saint Clair Park, 12x9 pastel, copyright 2010

Things have been hectic as usual lately, leaving little time for my artwork.  I was able to sneak one in this week while my daughter ran with her cross country team.  The team ran at Fort Saint Clair Park in Eaton, and with the sun actually shining it seemed like a good opportunity to try some en plain aire, or outdoor, painting.  A nieghbor friend and talented fiber artist, Laura Wogamon, joined me as her daughter is on the team as well.

My experience with plein aire painting is pretty limited and I've never tried it with pastels.  The brilliant sunlight slipped behind the trees pretty quickly and the mosquitos started getting to us (note to self: bugspray!) but it was an enjoyable experience.  The fading light and limited time forced me to work quickly, but I was able to cover the entire paper, and did only a few touch ups in the studio once I got home.  Not sure if I quite captured the dappled evening light on the bridge, but I think it turned out pretty well.  Now I am actually looking forward to cross country practices!