Late September Sunsets

 "Sunset #1: Rex Beach, 9/28/11"  -- oil on birch panel 8x10" -- Margie Guyot

 "Sunset #2: Rex Beach, 9/28/11"  -- oil on birch panel 8x16" -- Margie Guyot

 

Running behind on my blog posts again!  Towards sunset there was an interesting bank of clouds moving toward the west.  I threw all my gear into the car and headed down to my favorite spot, Rex Beach, south of Charlevoix.  That's the Leelanau Peninsula in the background.

 

It's amazing how quickly the sky changes!  I painted as quickly as possible to finish the first one, then walked it back to the car.  Sitting finished, wet oil paintings on the sand, I discovered to my chagrin, is a no-no!  Although it might seem to be calm, there is always a little breeze going on down at sand-level.  I have a beach painting that's covered with a fine layer of sand.  And contrary to what people say, it does NOT brush off once the painting is dry!  Same goes for bugs, too.  They are attracted to wet paint and by golly -- they die there.  I end up having to paint over them later.

 

By the time I got back down to the easel everything had changed.  The sun had actually dipped below the horizon, but there was still plenty enough light to see to paint.  I liked the clouds, how they appeared "dotty" at the top.