"Lepman Farm" -- plein air field study -- oil on canvas -- 8x10" -- Margie Guyot

I painted this entire painting with one brush only: a #8 Ruby Satin flat. Love the Ruby Satin brushes! They can hold a knife-thin shape, making it possible to paint even thin lines, like the metal gate you see on the left, in front of the barn.

My friend Al Maciag and I decided to go join the Jordan River Art Club's plein air group on Tuesday morning. We were to meet at a historical farm, east of Charlevoix. It was very cloudy and rain was in the forecast, but there was the lure of shaggy cows! Al's "big" into painting cows, so he was especially interested. Why I'd left my camera at home....!

Most of the barns on this property are over 100 years old. Most had been moved onto this property and are in surprisingly good condition, at least from the outside.

The cows WERE so cute! When Al sends me a photo, I'll add to this post. I was tempted to try to paint them, but I knew that they wouldn't hold still. So I painted this view of a couple of the barns.

Every once in a while a light mist would fall. I painted as fast as possible, using the #8 flat brush. #8 is rather large. My very first teacher, Clyde Aspevig, had told us to use the biggest brush for as long as possible. Good advice!

At my feet were miniature daisies of some sort. I love those! I don't know the name of them, but I'd love to get some for my yard. Mostly white, but there were a few pale pink ones.

One of the great things about the Jordan River Art Club's plein air painting sessions is that they always have a thermos of coffee, a cooler of pop and water, fruit and bakery items. Members take turn bringing stuff. I'd never been out painting with such luxuries!