Solomons paint out - Day One

6:00 am
For the next three days I will be reporting live from the Solomons-Paint the Town plein air painting event. I will post updates and photos from the trenches since this is the first time I've participated in such an event AND had internet access close at hand. It will either be incredibly awesome or extremely boring. Maybe both.

For inspiration this morning I am browsing through the abstracted landscapes of Kelly Neidig a Portland, OR, artist. Love love love her color palette.

Yesterday afternoon I checked in at Annmarie Garden and ran into artists David Diaz and Gary Pendleton. I believe that Craig Amaral and Linda Epstein--who were also at Snow Hill this year--are also participating. Looks like about 30 artists preregistered. And the judge is landscape painter Bill Schmidt.



It's about 6:30 am now. Just fed the dog, made myself some really strong coffee, listening to The Talking Heads, and creating a last minute stressor. I only checked in four 11" x 14" canvas panels yesterday, but I might want more variety when I hit the streets. So I pulled out my trusty roll of paper canvas and started taping off a grid for smaller paintings. The roll of paper canvas...sigh. I bought this roll in at Utrecht in 1998 for $55. It started as 3" x 10 yards. I suppose I was optimistic enough to buy such a huge supply when I was 20. But if I saw it in the art store today, I might think twice. Will I use all this up before I die?



1:30 pm
Surprisingly little progress since breakfast. I went out and scouted a few locations before heading over the river and through the woods to the auto glass folks for a new windshield. Last week some nice Maryland State Trooper invited me to get it fixed. Wasn't that thoughtful! It was nearly lunchtime before I went to the Calvert Marine Museum. All day it had been overcast and cool until about 30 minutes into my painting. Out came the sun and changed the lighting of the scene entirely and dried up all the paint. So...



I am about as approachable as Grendel with the poison ivy, so I mashed an ugly hat on my head, too. It probably doesn't help that I also growl at passersby. And then there is my ribbon. All artists must wear their identification badges throughout the event. I can't tell you how happy that makes me.



7:00 pm
I spent the afternoon camped out on the point at Calvert Marina working on a painting of the scene sketched out above. The painting is still a work in progress, but I at least got the bones down on canvas. I will go back over there tomorrow afternoon, hoping for the same light.



I hear that this look is all the rage for lepers this season. My left eye is simmering down, but my right cheek is all fired up. And for the first time in slightly more than six years I left the house without my wedding band on. I have poison between my fingers, and it's really swollen at the moment. Is this what they mean by the old saying "seven year itch"???

That's all the painting news for today. I will start again with a new post in the morning.