"Sunset #1: Rex Beach 8/15/10"

"Sunset #1: Rex Beach 8/15/10" -- plein air field study -- oil on canvas panel -- 8x10" -- Margie Guyot

It's been very windy here the past couple days, so when I first got down to Rex Beach I prowled along the shoreline, hoping to find a Petoskey stone or two.  The waves usually bring them in.  No luck.  I was killing a little time, waiting for the big cloud bank to move south a little more.

The view was spectacular!  I could see patches of heavy rainfall out over the lake.  Somebody was getting pounded.  I found out later Harbor Springs, Petoskey and Charlevoix were catching hell.  Dry as a bone where I stood (just north of Eastport).  

But the wind!  It was difficult to paint a straight horizon line with my hand being buffeted by the wind gusts.  I looked up and saw the sun in this position, peeking out for one last look before being covered by the clouds.  

The view changes by the second!  There's the urge to keep changing the painting, but I've learned from experience not to do this too much.  You can drive yourself crazy, following the endless changes.

"Sunset #2: Rex Beach 8/15/10"

"Sunset #2: Rex Beach 8/15/10" -- plein air field study -- oil on canvas panel -- 8x10" -- Margie Guyot

The sun had just dipped below the horizon, but there was still lots of light, enough to paint a second (or even a third) painting.  I was looking north, out over Lake Michigan, towards Harbor Springs.  I could see there was quite a rainstorm going on out over the lake.  Still very windy -- hard to hold my brush still enough to paint the horizon line.  But very refreshing, after last week's heat wave!

After I got home, a friend called to say his wife (an oboe player) had gotten rained out of the Harbor Springs Community Band's concert.  They'd gotten through about mid-way through their third number when the conductor had to stop and announce they had to end.  Such a mad scramble to pack up instruments, stands, chairs and music!  They managed to square it all away seconds before the giant deluge.

It was dry as a bone where I stood, thank goodness.  The rain didn't hit here in Eastport until after about 11 PM.