Monroe Lake Paynetown Painting Demonstration, 080517 12x16 #1

This painting demo at Monroe Lake Paynetown beach six miles from Bloomington, Indiana was sponsored and funded by the Indiana Arts Commission and held in collaboration with the Indiana Department of Natural Resources in partnership with the property as part of the "Arts in the Parks" program.  

I arrived at the Paynetown beach around 11:30 a.m. and scoped out the area and decided where to set up for my demo.  The best vantage point was up at the Nature and Activity Center overlooking the beach with the trees on the opposite side.  The location would also be a high traffic area for maximum exposure and, as an added bonus, there were some benches nearby for visitors to sit on.  However, several visitors who came just for the demo brought their own folding chairs. 

I set up some of the plein air gear like my backpack, wet panel carriers, and tubes of paint on a table for visitors to study.  I also had a couple of cards so visitors could see some finished paintings.

I got set up and started the first painting, a 12" x 16", promptly at 1:00 p.m. starting with the initial sketch using a brush dipped in oil and a bit of pigment.  Then I started painting in the dark values before blocking in the sandy beach, lake, and sky.

 

After the basics were blocked in, I started popping in the tents and people that populated the beach and frolicked in the water.

Some of the visitors who came out for the demo.

The painting with the scene in the background.

Dr. Tony Lubarsky and me at the end of the demo.  

Tony sent me this photo and the action shot of me painting(above) with the following note:  

"Twenty years ago you were my first oil instructor. I was the only one using palette knife because you said we can use anything we wanted. I loved palette knife painting. But then you watched me for a while and said: Tony, no body paints straight from the tube! I was mixing right on the canvas."  

Ha!  When I got his note, I remembered that conversation.  I'm real big on mixing beautiful colors using complementary color systems so I was no doubt cringing with all the "tube colors"  going straight on the canvas.  

"Monroe Lake Paynetown Beach, August 5, 2017", plein air oil painting on panel, 12" x 16", c. 2017 by Charlene Marsh.

Stay tuned for the second painting I did as part of the demo.

Thanks for following along.

Happy Trails.

Cheers,

Charlene 

"This activity is made possible with support by the Indiana Arts Commission and the Indiana Department of Natural Resources OR Name of appropriate State Historic Site."