We spent a couple of painting sessions in the Garden District of DeLand. It's an area that experienced blight due to poverty, drugs, crime and a mass exodus of law abiding residents. Recently there has been a major effort to revitalize this area. Thanks to the vision of Michael E. Arth this area is making a come back with quaint homes, gardens, lots of white picket fences and even fountains enhancing the landscape.

 Three artists came out to paint  this day. Here are my progress photos.

At this point it was getting really hot, so I decided to finish up in the studio. Here is my final piece.

Garden Cottage 1 - oil - 11" x 14" - Leah Wiedemer

The following week we returned to the same spot, but turned our attention to the opposite side of the street.

We arrived at around 7:30 AM and were painting by 8AM. This time I chose a smaller canvas.

After a few studio tweaks, this is what I have.

Garden Cottage 2 - oil - 8"x 10" - Leah Wiedemer

Tomorrow we go to the St. John's river. Should be fun!

Rockefeller's River View

This week the weatherman was calling for rain so I decided to stick close to home for my plein air day. It still hasn't rained by the way. Anyway... here I am at The Casements. It's a lovely estate which was purchased by John Rockefeller in the 1900's, and is located on the Halifax River here in Ormond Beach.

 I found a good spot under cover just in case it did decide to rain. I edited this scene quite a bit by moving some trees and taking out other trees as well as the picnic tables.  I thought the dock would make the painting too cluttered so I removed it as well. I'll paint it another time. So 'simplify' was the word of the day.

Take a look at my brief video to see my progress. It takes just a little over a minute.

Here is the finished painting. Typically I will continue to make minor adjustments over a couple of days. That is likely to occur this time as well.

Rockefeller's River View - oil - 8"x 10" - $280 (framed)

I'd love to read any comments you might have! 

Please comment below.