Second Place!

My painting buddy Tina and I attended the Redfish Lake paint-out this week in hopes of creating  something worth displaying in the art show and perhaps sell a piece or two.  So we signed up, packed our bags, built up our courage, and headed to Redfish Lake near Stanley, Idaho.

We put together a small display area but didn't have anything to display right away.  Many of the other artists were much more experienced than we were so it was a little intimidating.  But hey, we were there to have fun! And fun we did have!

Then, little by little we painted and displayed each piece.  In the end we filled our display racks (despite Tina coming down with a cold) and sold half of what we produced.  We are thrilled to death!  And, best of all, we continued to build our confidence in painting in public.  This isn't always an easy thing to do.  Sometimes an artist isn't painting well....or sometimes he/she needs total concentration to work on or complete a painting. But, by the end of the week we both felt much more confident in mastering the art of simultaneous conversation while painting.

An added benefit was being awarded second place for "Six O'Clock Shadows".  I was thrilled by the unexpected honor.  Believe it or not it's my very first prize ribbon...and I mean EVER!  I feel like a kid who came in second place in a spelling bee.  Is that silly or what?

Oh, the mouse!  We tried everything to get rid of our little visitor.  We screamed and jumped on the bed (ok, that was me), Tina threw stuff at him, I stuffed the cracks in the door jam with foil and left the lights on all night, nothing worked!   He was determined to visit us night after night and make noise as he roamed around the two room cabin.  So, we eventually gave up...and just named him Herman.

The Point and Seize The Day

The Point

10x8, soft pastel

Day 10 of 30

This is an early morning scene at Redfish Lake when the waters were very calm.  The Point is located near the lodge making it a convenient location to paint.  

The second painting of the day was on the beach where I found a willing model.  She had so much color going on I couldn't resist painting the scene!

Seize The Day

6x8, soft pastel

In fact,  I painted three paintings today which is a record for me.  The third isn't quite presentable yet.  All in all it was a good but exhausting day!

Six O'Clock Shadows and Parking Zone

Six O'Clock Shadows

8x10, soft pastel

Day 11 of 30
I knew before the break of dawn that I wanted to get out on the boat docks early and paint the shadows of a group of kayaks.  I've seen them each day during this paint-out and because I like vibrant colors they've been calling to me.  There are many very good artists here and most are proficient at landscape painting.  Me???  I love landscapes...but you can only paint so many trees!

The second painting I squeezed in was finished just in time to submit in the show...it's called Parking Zone.

Parking Zone

7x5, soft pastel