Plein hot air

I went out and did some plein air this afternoon, in the beautiful garden at Wild Ginger Farm. It's the first time I've tried plein air in two years, and it was nice to be out. I took my clip-on umbrella and I'm really glad I did, as it was close to 90 degrees. I took oil pastels to have as little gear as possible (there is a puppy on the grounds), and at times it seemed like they were melting on the paper.

I really want to go back and try taking some acrylics. Maybe with my french easel I can keep the paints and the puppy separate. I'm happy that I was able to finish in the three hours I was there, and I'm glad I tried the things I did—the colors of the purple cotinus (smoke bush) on the right, and my attempt on the texture of the blue-green pine branches. Of course it's not a very good painting, but I was relatively successful getting the colors. I hope I might do better a second time.