Porch Ornaments

"Porch Ornaments" -- plein air field study -- oil on canvas -- 10x20" -- Margie Guyot

After finishing painting "Charlevoix Train Station", I felt discouraged.  It was dark and gloomy and rainy -- not a good day for plein air painting!  All of us painters were under the gun to come up with nice paintings, framed and turned in later that afternoon.  Everything looked so blah!  Oh, what to do, what to do!


I packed up my gear and left Charlevoix.  Went home.  I was hungry.  Made a salad for lunch and had a cup of Starbucks.  There had to be something I could paint!


Standing out on my front porch, I looked up and saw it: my next painting!  Bright, cheery and whimsical: it was perfect!  There was the little "flying fish" tincan sculpture by Rich Branstrom and the string of plastic owl patio lights.  It gave me goosebumps.  Goosebumps, for me, are always a sign that I should do it, to follow through on an impulse.  I couldn't stop smiling the whole time I painted this one.  This was my favorite painting (out of 3) that I did on Saturday for the annual Crooked Tree Art Center's Paint-Out.