Coming Up Roses

Painting plein air at the Park of Roses.

"A Rose by Any Other Name" - 8 x 10" - oil

For the first time in a few months I had a chance to go out and paint plein air (the act of painting outside or on location).  My first outing was on Friday at the Ohio Statehouse (more about that later) and  Saturday I was at the Park of Roses with the Central Ohio Plein Air group.  

It was this time last year when I first dove into the plein air arena.  From what I remember during that first experience, it was hectic.  There were hundreds of people walking by and looking over your shoulder to see what you were coming up with.   There was a chance of rain, the sky was overcast and it seemed like the scene I was painting changed every minute.

This year was a little different.  The weather was far better and I was far more prepared physically and mentally to take on anything.  After a year of plein air painting, I can look back and see that this practice has helped my process in the studio as well.  All in all it was a good day at the park.  I got to see some of the regular group of plein air painters in the area, meet some new folks and work on a couple of paintings like the one above.