Update | Paintings in Progress | New Flowers in the Garden

6/27/2023

The weather has been a bit cooler the past few days so it's been easier to be outside painting and moving around. I'm working on a few larger pieces and they've given me real sense of freedom. One of them is an evening scene of the pond which I'm working on in the studio. I did an oil sketch beforehand and I'm usually committed to working en plein air, but the size of this canvas makes it really difficult to manage. The sun is an issue since my umbrella only shades a portion of the canvas; the wind can be a big problem too since a canvas is essentially like a large sail that can catch the wind.
I am working on a morning pond scene entirely en plein air because it's small enough that I can handle it. I'm really getting accustomed to these larger sizes and am planning more to come.
Some new flowers are being planted in the garden and they're really very colorful. I sketch a lot in the evening and it's great to just sit and appreciate the different shapes and colors. I can recognize many of the varieties, but some are new to me and I've been having fun studying them.