Cedarburg Main Event Entries

Whew!  It's over. More than a week of painting outside and in the elements.  I was able to get out and paint this year more than in the past and learned so much in the process.  While I enjoy painting downtown Cedarburg, I really LOVE the countryside and the wide open spaces.  My feet are best suited in boots and stuck in the mud (or manure).  Thank you to the farmers who allowed me to paint on their properties and trusted me to shut their gates right!  I will post more about my experiences in the days ahead.  These are the two paintings exhibited in the main event and I'm thrilled to say both are SOLD.

 "Cheryl's Chickens"  11 x 14

 Painting in progress

 "Mike's Vista"  12 x 12

Quick Paint

It's been a busy week.  I'm involved in a Plein Air painting event in Cedarburg, Wisconsin.  Last Saturday we held our "quick paint" where you are allowed 2.5 hours to start, paint, finish and frame a painting.  I always enter this part of the competition with some anxiety, as the weather is a big unknown.  I was lucky to find a quiet spot where I found some cows.  Suddenly, the cows were gone...in for morning milking.  But luckily they returned before the time was up.  I chose to include just one cow under the old tree.  It turned out to be a morning of "Solitude" for me in spite of the hurried feeling of the Quick Paint and dodging the raindrops. 

Adventures in Port Washington

We had a mix of weather for our Port Washington paint-out portion of the Cedarburg Plein Air Event.  Artists were painting in mittens and hats on Wednesday, huge storms rolled in overnight and Thursday was beautiful.  It was fun painting both types of conditions. 
My early morning was spent on the breakwall painting the old lighthouse.  I was the only one out there for a long time, then a few fishermen showed up. 
Then, I turned the easel around and painted the marina.  The next morning I woke up early to capture the sunrise looking north from South Shore beach.  Port is a beautiful city and the artists look forward to returning next year.

A Port picture perfect morning

Finally, it was a great morning to be out painting.  Headed up to Port Washington to gear up for the Plein Air painting event next week.  Port Washington is filled to the brim with subject matter.  Decided to try a very complicated subject and focus on simplifying.  Need to tweak a few things, such as toning down the red of the sailboat.  An easy and quick fix.
You've heard me say it before...."something interesting usually happens when you're out plein air painting."  Yes, it did again today....no surprise!  These three planes were fueling up in Port and did a nice drive by, then later a fly by for us!  This is something at least I don't get to see everyday!  Especially love the YELLOW plane.  Thanks for providing the eye candy!
If any artists are reading this....word of caution.  Bring your insect repellent.  The horseflies are fierce and I had to pick at least 50 off this painting.