Ferry Road

"Ferry Road" -- plein air field study -- oil on canvas -- 8x16" -- Margie Guyot

I'd been wanting to come paint this view ever since I saw it a few weeks back.  Finally I made the effort to get over there today.  It's east of US 31, in between Charlevoix and Ellsworth, Michigan.  I'm such a sucker for rolling hills, gravel roads and trees casting shade!  Kind of a scorcher here: up near 80 degrees.  Well, that's HOT for here.  Lots of us are complaining.  Tomorrow's supposed to be even hotter.  Darn!

Up until fairly recently, I had only done plein air in 8x10, 11x14" formats.  A friend suggested trying 8x16's.  I tried it once and became hooked!  They're also great for painting seascapes.

I was fortunate to find a shady tree to paint under!  I'm not a fan of sunburns and heat.  Two farm dogs woofed at me initially, but soon got bored and left.  They took turns chasing each other out in the fields.

I'm at home now, recharging with a salami & mustard sandwich.  Would like to drive down to Rex Beach and paint a sunset tonight.  Clouds look like they'd be interesting.  And I couldn't paint at the beach last month -- too many swarms of bugs.  They would dive into wet paint -- either on my palette or onto the canvas.  Thought I should make the most of today -- tomorrow's supposed to be sweltering, in the upper 80's.  I'll be holed up inside my studio, working on a new still life (where it's cooler).