Waterways Plein Air

The Smithsonian is sponsoring  a  plein air event in Putnam County, Florida called "Waterways". The Smithsonian name immediately got my attention, so I trekked out to Crescent City with my painting buddy last week to find an appealing lake view.  We landed at the public dock on Crescent Lake and set up among a handful of fisher folk.
This was my view from the dock.

I eliminated the covered structure on the left and changed the color of the boathouse on the right, and brought the boathouse closer to the foreground.
My mantra was 'simplify, simplify'.

Crescent Lake Boathouse - oil - 8" x 10" - $280 -  Wiedemer

It was accepted in the show at the Bronson -Mulholland House in Palatka. I'm looking forward to going to the opening tomorrow.

Cheers!

Painting History

Does absence really make the heart grow fonder? Well if it is true, I must be well loved by now.  Even though I haven't posted lately, I have been painting up a storm.

Our little painting group spent several weeks painting nearby in Lake Helen. Some of these will be on display at Hopkins Hall in Lake Helen during the Christmas Home Tour December 5 &6.

Sunday Morning at Zion Baptist - oil - Leah Wiedemer

We painted several of Lake Helen's historic churches.

Vespers - oil - Leah Wiedemer

And the historic City Hall complete with sand hill crane visitors.

Breakfast at City Hall - oil - 11"x 14"

Then we took a break from Lake Helen and went to Lake Woodruff Refuge. This is one of my favorite spots in spite of the fact that the mosquitoes eat me alive.

Rainy Day at the Refuge - oil - Leah Wiedemer

The sun never made an appearance and eventually the rain chased us away. But this turned out to be one of my favorite paintings. I guess there is just something about a gloomy day that appeals to me.

I'm interested in what you think. Please leave a comment.

Painting Sunshine on Canal Street

Our plein air painting group finally caught a break with the weather, so we met on Canal Street in New Smyrna Beach.
The sun was shining with nary a cloud in the sky.

If you know Canal Street, you are aware that it is popular with tourists and locals alike. It is lined with quaint shops, restaurants, and galleries. I love to hear the comments of people who stop to look. My favorite this day was "Oh! Fancy!".

This is where I set up. I started out enjoying the shade cast by the building across the street, but all too soon I found myself in full sun and beginning to burn.

I wear sunglasses to help me to not paint too dark in full sun. But even the shades couldn't eliminate all of the glare on this bright day.

Here is my "Got A Minute?" progress video. It even came in at just under a minute this week! Now who doesn't have a spare 57 seconds?

Back in the studio I took this picture of the finished painting.

"Canal Street" - oil - 8"x 10" - Leah Wiedemer - $280

Please leave a comment and tell me your thoughts. - thank you!

Climbing Mount Dora

Did I say 'climbing'?! No, that's just silly. There are no mountains in Florida. Although the land does gently undulate in Lake County  where the charming little town of Mount Dora is located. What I meant to say was 'painting' Mount Dora.

For the past week I've had the pleasure of participating in the Mount Dora Paint Out. Driving back and forth was exhausting, but the time I had painting more than made up for it.




Day 1. I decided to paint Donnelly Street which is the main street in town. You can see from the photo that is was a beautiful day. Here is my finished painting.

"Donnelly Street" - 8"x 10" - oil - $280

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Day 2. Unfortunately it poured rain all day. The good news is that I snagged a spot in the parking garage where I had a great view of the train. So I was able to stay mostly dry. I don't know why everyone didn't do that.

The Cannonball Caboose - 11"x 14" - oil - $462

I'll do a separate post for my 'Got a minute' progress video of the Cannonball Caboose.

Day 3. The sun came back for another gorgeous day and I set up my easel by Lake Dora. The cypress trees make the water appear tea colored.

"Lake Dora Boat Slip' - 8"x 10" - oil - $280

Here is a shot of the hawk that kept an eye on us painting all morning. 

                                         

Day 4. I returned to the lake but a different area. There were a couple of swan boats on the beach that I didn't paint. I did use them in the title though.

Lake Dora Swan Depot - 11"x 14" - oil - $462

 

Tomorrow is the show opening at the Mount Dora Center for the Arts. I can hardly wait to see the works that my fellow artists painted during the week.

I'm learning so much by painting on location. There is still sooooooooooo much to learn! 

Please leave a comment or question below.

St. Augustine Inspiration

 I decided to drive up to St. Augustine to do some painting. It's one of my favorite places and the weather was absolutely perfect.

Check out that BLUE sky. Isn't it gorgeous? I've always loved the look of this old church with the greenish dome. I heard a tour operator tell his trolley full of tourists that it was built by Henry Flagler. No big surprise as he seems to have built most of St. Augustine.

I was able to set up in the shade which is always a bonus. And I scored a parking spot where I could keep an eye on things to avoid getting a parking ticket. So far, so good.

My canvas here was 12"x 24". I've never worked this large in plein air before, so this was a challenge. I'll save you the suspense.  I didn't finish. Well, not on location anyway. I ran out of parking meter change after three hours of painting. So I decided to pack up and finish it in my studio.

My 'Got A Minute' video is actually more like a minute and a half this week. Close enough don't you think? Check it out and let me know what you think.  Thanks!

Blue Dome - oil - 12"x 24"
Leah Wiedemer