High clouds muted the sky most of yesterday as I stood on my perch along the Skykomish River at Al Borlin Park. The subdued brightness of the day added a lovely quality to the rushing river.
This is my largest plein air painting to date:16x20. Had I not been painting with the Plein Air Painters of Washington, I wouldn't have stayed all day to complete it. My easel setup teetered on an uneven, narrow trail that skimmed the cut along the high bank. It was such an awkward position that I opted not to leave it to grab lunch. By the afternoon, I began yearning for the snacks I'd left in the car and the heat of the sun was making me drip with sweat. But all my "suffering" seemed worthwhile when I gathered with the other painters to talk about how we composed our paintings and dealt with the scenery. (The whole experience made dinner taste better than usual too.)
