"Banks Twp Park - Ice Chunks"

"Banks Twp. Park - Ice Chunks" -- plein air field study -- oil on canvas 8x16" -- Margie Guyot

It was another glorious, sunny day here, so I decided to venture up to Banks Township Park.  Pulled on my long underwear and ultra-heavyweight down coat.  And this time I wore hiking boots with ice grippers.  Unlike Barnes Park (see previous post), Banks Park lacks a steep hill, allowing the icy winds to sail right along. 

See that distant little point sticking out?  That's where I hiked to paint.  There's a rocky point that juts out and after my experience of falling into a crevass, I wanted to play it safe and stick to the rocks.  And I was so glad I'd bundled up.  The wind was brutally cold out there.

Things always are exciting out on that point.  I set my gear down and walked all around, looking for the most amazing spot.  What I loved was the little area of ice chunks that had floated into a cove.  Everything was freezing shut again.  The colors were subtle, but I was fascinated by this view.  Again, I'm looking south, towards Elk Rapids and Traverse City. 

One of the advantages to using a Soltek easel is the sides flip up, allowing the palette surface to be shaded.  Trying to mix colors on a palette that's in bright sunlight is pretty difficult.
After finishing this one I hiked around a little, but when my boot fell into another small crevass, I decided to quit when I was ahead!

"Ford Flex in Snow"

"Flex in Snow" -- plein air field study -- 8x10" oil on birch panel -- Margie Guyot

Setup for "Flex in Snow", January 13, 2012

This has been the strangest winter.  Up until January 13th, we'd only had 1" of snow.  Many days were 40 degrees (or more).  I was hoping we would get some snowfall so I could do some paintings of cedar trees in the snow, ideally on a bright, sunny day, so there would be blue shadows.  I haven't seen this combination yet, but it could still happen.

So last Friday I woke up to 6" of snow.  It was still snowing here and I was so excited, I wanted to paint it.  From past experience, I've learned it's next to impossible to paint when the snow is falling.  It ends up on your palette, mixing in with the oil paints.  Just an icky mess!  

The whole front side of my house has a porch with an overhanging roof, so I set up my Soltek easel and painted this view of my Ford Flex.  Keep your fingers crossed for a sunny day + snow!

Oh -- I get asked this all the time: how is your Flex in the snow?  Great!  This one's got AWD and I've never had a problem.  I managed to get out of my long driveway, through the pileup at the end that the snowplow leaves, and out onto the highway.  And there's lots of cargo room for transporting big paintings. 

More Pumpkins 12x12"

 "Cheese Pumpkin" -- oil on canvas 12x12" -- Margie Guyot

"Baby Boo" -- oil on canvas 12x12" -- Margie Guyot

Once again I've fallen behind on my posts!  Life is FULL.  The weather here along the NW coastline of Michigan has been balmy, compared to previous years.  We've even had a few sunny days, which I've used to squeeze in a few more plein air paintings of the pumpkins.  I wish I could say I had grown all of them, but the deer population here would never allow it.  No, these are "store-bought" pumpkins from a farmstand in Traverse City.  I never cease to be amazed at the varieties!  All they had when I was growing up were the big jack-o-lantern types.

To paint pumpkins, I've been plopping them in the grass in front of my studio, setting up the Soltek easel and Bestbrella and sitting in my lawnchair.  Usually I stand when painting, but maybe I felt lazy.  And I always, always use a little viewfinder to see my compositions.  

Most of the time it would be sunny when I'd begin; often the clouds would roll in at some point and I'd lose my strong sunshine/shadow patterns.  And the temperature would drop very quickly.  Good thing I paint fast!   

Blue & Orange Striped Pumpkin

 "Blue & Orange Striped Pumpkin" -- plein air field study -- oil on canvas 12x12" -- Margie Guyot

This was another great find in Traverse City, at the pumpkin stand last week.  All pumpkins were marked down to $1 each.  Such a deal!  It was raining cats & dogs, but I thoroughly enjoyed wandering around, picking out such fantastical pumpkins!  Where were these beauties when I was a kid?

We had another sunny day here yesterday -- an amazing thing for NW Michigan in November -- so I set up the trusty lawn chair in the yard, my Soltek, the BestBrella (to shade the back of my canvas) and got to work.  The 4 cats came by to check on me now and then.  Miss America (who is really a "he") jumped up onto my lap at one point.  He's the one who's broken so many of my glass vases.  At least he didn't jump up onto the wet palette.  

The temperature dropped dramatically as the winds picked up at 3:30 (as they usually do), giving me me a final urgency to finish. 

Rex Beach 9-15-11

 "Rex Beach - 9/15/11" -- plein air field study -- oil on canvas 8x16"

setup at Rex Beach 9/15/11

All day long the clouds were SO fantastic!  I waited until late in the day, then drove to my favorite spot, Rex Beach.  Glad I'd dressed in layers -- that wind was howing the whole time and it was pretty chilly.  Here I'm looking over Grand Traverse Bay to the Leelanau Peninsula.  Parts of the peninsula were getting rain squalls.  

Up until this summer, I'd not tried painting in this type of format: long and narrow.  It's kind of fun to do, as I get to show more of the dramatic skies.  

And yes, that's a Soltek easel.  After having to get the legs repaired a couple times, I've finally learned to keep the leg tips enclosed in plastic.  Once sand gets inside, the legs go kaflooey!  Other than that, it's been a good easel.

As usual, I had the entire beach to myself.  This little park is only 3.5 miles from my house and I can drive very close to the beach.  There is a turnaround at water's edge, designed for boat drop-offs, but I've seen many people get stuck there.  Which is why I always park in the designated parking lot.  

Although it was still light enough to paint another, I thought it would be pushing my luck.  The rain squall might just hit in the middle of another painting.  I packed up and stashed everything into the car, then returned for a walk along the beach.  Found 2 small Petoskey stones (fossilized coral, originally formed along the coastline of Chile).  Beach visits always revive me!

Sometimes it's almost dark when I walk back to my car, carrying all my equipment.  That is when I think about packs of rabid coyotes, hungry bears, mountain lions on the prowl.

Farmall Tractor

"Farmall Tractor" -- plein air field study -- oil on canvas board -- 8x10" -- Margie Guyot

Last week I had to drive way down to Mancelona, MI, for a band rehearsal.  And right west of town I saw this wonderful, old tractor, sitting in a big field of goldenrod!  Wow!  Way cool!

And it rained and was terribly windy all week.  Impossible to go out plein air painting.  Yesterday the wind departed and the clouds left -- and I loaded the Flex and took off down M-88 for Mancelona.  Nothing was going to stop me!

But -- oy vey!  I'd pitched my Soltek about 10 feet from the little highway to paint this -- and was surprised at the volume of traffic!  M-88 is a "major through-way" out there, with semis and cars, zooming along at 55+ mph!  I didn't enjoy that, painting so close to those tons of speeding metal, whizzing past at 10 feet away.  But I was determined to paint this thing!

The goldenrod was on its way out.  Good thing I got there when I did.  Today it's supposed to rain again.  

The Farmall looked ancient.  The red paint was very faded.  But I bet it'll run! 

Green Cabbage

"Green Cabbage" -- plein air field study -- oil on canvas  18x24" -- Margie Guyot

Sunday morning I went kayaking out on Lake Michigan with a couple friends.  I'd have gladly quit after an hour -- the sun was blazing, it was going up to 90 degrees and the waves made it rather challenging.  But nooooo -- we stayed out 3 hours!  I was pretty well tuckered-out by the time I got home.  Had to take a nap.

Ah, there's nothing like a little rest and cup of Starbucks to get me going again!  I loaded my Soltek, BestBrella, Gamsol and paints into the car and drove over to my neighbor's garden.  OK -- call me soft.  I could have carried it all over, but why suffer needlessly?  I'd had my exercise for the day.

Wearing my long bumblebee-free jeans, socks and shoes, I felt confident I would be safe from marauding insects, although I sweated like a pig.  90 degrees at 4 PM.  Did I mention I'm not a "heat person"?  But I had been wanting to paint one of the green cabbages for days.  Nothing was going to stop me.  Except rain.

How quickly the sun was sinking behind the row of trees to the west!  Brushes, don't fail me now!  I painted as fast as I possibly could.  Slap that paint around, girl!!!  It would be no good to try to paint without strong sunlight and shadows.  Notice how the sunlight seemed to make one of the leaves on the left side appear to almost glow?  It made the central vein appear a surprisingly strong yellow.

There's nothing like painting in good-old, strong sunlight!  You see colors you'd never be able to get if you were using a photograph as reference.  Depending on the angle of the leaf, some sections would be reflecting the blue of the sky; others would be reflecting the warm gold of the sun.  It's the strong shadow shapes that make an object "pop".   To me, if something doesn't "pop", it's just blah.  And why paint "blah"?

I usually do plein air in smaller sizes just because the light changes so quickly.  But I wanted to paint larger, showing the cabbage nearly life-size.  Impossible to do it proper justice on an 8x10" canvas.

The most difficult part of any painting, for me, is drawing it in.  I always use a little view-finder to help figure out the composition.  And I always use skills I learned from Betty Edward's wonderful book, "Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain".  I used my brush handle as a kind of measuring stick, basing all the drawings of the leaves on the gauge of the tight cabbage head.  Otherwise this would have been impossible for me to draw.  And yes, I always have lots of wipe-outs!  But that's the great thing about oil paint -- it dries so slowly, it's easy to wipe out what you don't like.

Purple Cabbage

P

"Purple Cabbage" -- plein air field study -- 18x24" -- oil on canvas -- Margie Guyot

Normally I wouldn't paint a plein air study in this large a format, but I decided to try it this afternoon.  I'd been over at the neighbor's garden, picking a few green beans, when I noticed their beautiful row of cabbages.  Aha!  Time to drag out the old easel!

Thank goodness I threw everything into my car and drove over.  It took a couple hours to paint this and the sun was hot and I was rather tired at the end.  My BestBrella didn't want to stay put in the wind, so I had to hold it most of the time with my left hand.  Then my canvas blew off the Soltek easel!  I managed to catch it before it landed face-down in the dirt.  But worst of all: a mean bumblebee (one of those fat, black & yellow jobs) crawled up inside my capris and stung me in back of my left knee!  OWWWW!  Talk about "suffering for one's art"!  I was happy my car was nearby and I could just heave all my gear into the back. 

Cabbages are so cool!  I might come back and paint one of the green ones.  But next time I'll be sure to wear LONG pants!

"Spring Thaw -- My Driveway" -- plein air field study -- oil on stretched canvas -- 9x12" -- Margie Guyot

After days and days of driving all over, schlepping paintings hither and yon, playing gigs on my sax, I finally had a day I didn't have to go anywhere. So glad to stay home! I carried my Soltek easel down the driveway and set up to paint this view. What struck me as most interesting were the patterns of gravel exposed in the melting snow. And the shade cast from the red pine trees (unseen, on the right).

As I painted, my 3 cats hung close by, exploring and keeping an eye on "mommy".

This was the first time in months that I did not have to wear my heavy down coat. It was relatively balmy, up to around 40 degrees. Although I'll miss painting the ice pileups on Lake Michigan, I must admit I'm happy for spring to return.

"Thawing Ice - 3/04/10" -- plein air field study -- oil on canvas -- 12x24" -- Margie Guyot

Spring is slowly arriving here in NW Michigan. Ice patterns out on Lake Michigan have captured my interest this winter. Today I went to one of my favorite little parks, Banks Township Park, just south of Norwood. It's one of the few parks I can drive into without getting stuck. I perched my Soltek easel on a side of the hill overlooking the shoreline. Every time I go there, the ice looks different.

The diagonal "stripes" in the foreground were caused by the strong winds, blowing the snow along the beach.

I loved the almost turquoise-looking water that showed up in spots. Lots of chunks of ice floating around, blown in by the wind. A few diver ducks were present. Although it was a balmy 40 degrees, I was grateful to have on my heavy down coat and hood, gloves and winter boots. That wind was cold! I'd forgotten to change pants, though. I had on a pair of jeans that have a little rip - and that cold wind was blasting through.

That's the Leelanau Peninsula in the distance. I'm glad spring is on the way, but I must admit I'll miss painting the ice.

Check out the snow on this palette! I could barely paint with it by the end.

"Snowy Afternoon 2/26/10" -- plein air field study -- oil on canvas -- 11x14" -- Margie Guyot

It was only snowing lightly when I left m house, bound for Charlevoix. A photographer from the Petoskey News was going to meet me at the Charlevoix Circle of Art and I couldn't stand her up. Originally the plan had been to meet at the Circle and then head out for the ice at Norwood. However, a blizzard was in progress, so we decided to stay more in town.

I parked next to the Circle of Art and set up my Soltek right next to the building. Anything to keep out of the wind! I also tried setting up the BestBrella to try to keep the snow off my palette. But it was useless. I just vowed to paint fast as I could.

This view is looking north, down a small alley in Charlevoix. The photographer came and got a charge out of my crazy outfit. I had on my neon-orange polartec pants from LL Bean and my wolf fur trapper hat. And my heavyweight down coat that makes me look like I weigh 400 pounds. Rather eccentric. Oh well. At least I was warm.