Diary of a painting in progress, July 2015

So the 'Great Marsh' is a place within Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore that I have not been able to pull myself away from. I have seen well over 50 bird species in and around the area without even working for it! I'm finding painting scenes with water slightly intimidating, as I've not had much experience with it. I am, however, stepping into the painting with joy and appreciation for the artist residency, the National Parks system and the wild landscape surrounding me.

When the artist residency here at the National Lakeshore started, 2 weeks seemed to stretch out before me.....now with only a few days left, I'm feeling it slip away! Trying to stay in the moment.

Here, I'm posting 2 photos of a little (4x6") study of the Great Marsh. Lots of opportunities for mixing greens! My plein air studies while I'm here have been in watercolor and ink, on a variety of papers. This little piece is on Strathmore drawing paper, which allows for the finer lines and details. That said, I focus on staying loose in my approach to a landscape and in my brushwork.

Day 10, Artist Residency, Homestead National Monument, Nebraska

Cottonwoods in middle of restored prairie

This week is bringing ramped-up heat. Had a thunderstorm Sunday night, so the humidity is off the hook! So I'm finding shady spots to paint from. This piece took 3 evenings, as the light faded fast and the shadows got too long.

painting as the light fades, photo by Homestead visitor, Dean Jacobs

Day 4, Artist Residency at Homestead National Monument

Today I got out the door early with sketching stuff so I could record shadows from the plants. Early morning and late afternoon are best for this because of the height of the sun and the way it casts shadows from the plants. Since I only had monochromatic watercolor mixed and had left my multicolored travel set back at the house, I decided to make a little monochrome watercolor study of the tree line south of the National Monument fields.

Took the Homestead Trail with the bike again today - this time I went a little farther. I could see the water tower for the next town north, but realized I forgot my $$ for a snack, so I decided to turn back to Beatrice. About a mile from the end of the trail, back in town, but in a wooded/grassy area, I came across 2 wild turkey hens with about 10- 12 young ones out for a walk.

Had a lovely dinner at The Black Crow restaurant here in town - the bread pudding was worth going on a 14-mile bike ride every day! http://www.blackcrowrestaurant.com/

Headed out again for a little hike tonight and started another watercolor.