I figured the unbroken string of cloudy, damp Fridays was just God's way of telling me I need to learn to paint atmosphere. Most of the classes were great and I did produce a few canvases I rather like but one Friday, nature threw a new wrinkle into the day. The forecast all week was that Friday would be sunny and warm, which would have been different but the day dawned as gray and cold as every preceding class day. We met on a road with a wide, covered bridge and 360 degree views of rolling hills, turning trees and water. It was a spectacular spot to paint! Despite being cheated out of our promised sunny day, we were all very excited to paint as we got set up. One hour into our 3 hour class, the wind kicked in. If I'd been out walking, I wouldn't have thought anything of it, it wasn't a gale or anything, just a steady, unrelenting breeze. Turns out, when you're standing in one spot for hours on end, a steady unrelenting breeze is FREEZING. With an hour left in class, half of us could no longer hold our brushes, as our fingers were numb. I was frozen to my bones. Rick, our fearless leader, felt so bad for us that he suggested we cut the paint short and meet for an extra hour the next class. We all thought that was a good plan. I should have gone home and hopped in a hot bath but instead I went to work. I didn't feel warm until Sunday.
Fast forward a week and we all met again, dressed for the weather and fortified with snacks to keep going till afternoon. All went well for the first hour.
Then the floopin' wind kicked in again!
This time it was in my face. By 11:00, I was frozen to the bone again. I wasn't the only one. Seeing our distress, Rick agreed to cut the paint short and meet the next day to make up the hours. Not all of us took the offer but I wasn't the only one who did. I went right home and threw my winter coat in the car so that I'd be prepared for anything. I can't believe I didn't learn that lesson the first week it happened! My learning curve isn't as steep as it could be.
On Saturday, the sun was still hidden behind some haze but the wind was gone and that made all the difference. Three of us were there, painting on the bridge as a typical Saturday morning brigade of minivans and weekend warriors drove past. There's a lovely enclave of large houses just around a bend in the road beneath the bridge which sheltered us. I had to be mindful of cars as I stepped back to eye my canvas as I worked.
With about a half an hour left in class, a minivan pulled to a halt beside me and the driver asked me if my canvas was for sale.
The answer to that question is always "YES!".
He said he had a van full of kids and didn't want to take it wet off the easel but he gave me his number and took mine. We'll see if he still wants it after he's had a few days to regret his rash decision to stop. I should have asked him how much he had in his wallet and tossed the canvas right through the window of his car.
Either way, he made my day!
Fast forward a week and Friday was supposed to be cold but not windy. We met at one of my favorite places to paint: a high ridge overlooking the Minnesota river. 180 degree view of the horizon with trees, hills and a small town city center. There's even the rides of an amusement park rising through the trees to the southeast but none of us ever include those in our work. It was on that spot that I sold a canvas to another passer by last year.
I was careful to dress for the cold. Long underwear, layers, my winter coat, hat mittens, shoes and socks. You know I'm serious about the cold when I wear socks. Despite it being 15 degrees colder than it had been the week before, the absence of wind made it far more comfortable. In fact, before I even got painting, I'd taken off my hat, gloves, coat, shoes and socks. I was working on a large canvas that I'd taped off, to do several different quick sketches on. In plein air painting, the conditions are constantly changing so one must learn to work as quickly as possible. The way to train yourself in speed is to go fast and try to nail down the essentials without getting caught up in the details.
With an hour left in class, I turned my canvas 30 degrees and painted what had been over my left shoulder. If I weren't so lazy, I'd do some quick sketches every single day. If I won the lottery, I'd put a huge window in the front of my office, which would face west so I could paint the sunset every night. Do that for a year and I'd start to get good at it!
In between painting classes, we celebrated Zach's birthday! We had lasagna with all the fixin's and a chocolate cherry birthday cake. It was lovely enough to have the party out on the deck.
Our back yard looks better this year than it ever has. The flowers are out of this world, the trees are gorgeous and even the furniture looks good. I'm not giving up on back yard entertaining until it freezes. Here it is, October and I'm not sick of watering the flowers! Most year, by this time, I'm ready for them all to just get it over with and die already but this year I still feel like we just planted them and they're far and away the prettiest we've ever had.
While all this fun has been going on, Zach and Sara's baby is almost a week over due*. Any day now, grandbaby #6 will make her debut. I can't wait!
*can a baby really be over due? Isn't it more likely that we were all over expectant? Babies teach us, even before they're born, that we're not in control.