"Tulips in Blizzard"

"Tulips in Blizzard" -- oil on canvas 30x30" -- Margie Guyot

After days of temperatures in the 40's, we had a surprise blizzard over the first weekend of March.  I measured 16" of snowfall in my yard.  It'd started Friday night around 4.  I had to play a gig in Charlevoix from 5 to 7.  While we played, we all watched the snow falling heavily.  The drive home on 31 was slippery!  I drove slowly and was so happy to crawl into my nice, warm bed!  The heavy, wet snow piled up on trees and caused branches to break off, hitting power lines.  Thousands were without power for 2 - 3 days (or more).  My power was out from 9:30 Friday night until about 9:30 Sunday night.

Amazing, the things you can do without electricity!  No email, no Facebook -- you have loads of free time.  There was no heat in my studio, but it's insulated very well.  I threw on an extra jacket and decided to squeeze out another painting from this bunch of tulips.  I'm surprised they lasted as long as they did.

Instead of doing something very colorful, I wanted to show the view from my studio windows this time.  And there are no strong sunlight and shadow patterns.  It was dark and gloomy all weekend.

To be on the safe side, I carried in all my boxes of oil paints, in case my studio froze.

Tulips seem to get more interesting as they age, petals flopping open, stems twisting and looping.  The foliage was contorting into bizarre shapes.  But I love a good challenge.  What else was there to do?  I couldn't even leave my driveway.  No Internet.  No phone, no TV.  My plow guy was running behind.  He finally showed up Sunday afternoon -- with tales of his own to tell!

When the power came back Sunday night at 9:30, I almost threw on my coat and drove down to the Edison bucket truck (on the corner) to give them some beers and kiss their boots!  But I didn't have any beers, doggone it.

"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. 

Warty Pumpkin #2

 "Warty Pumpkin #2" -- plein air field study -- oil on canvas 12x12"  -- Margie Guyot

Setup for "Warty Pumpkin #2"

I guess you could say I love pumpkins.  When I was a kid there only seemed to be one or two types: the big, jack-o-lanterns and the little pie pumpkins.  My sister and I just loved picking out pumpkins!  Some years my dad would drive us around to several pumpkin stands to find "just the right ones".  

Now that more and more interesting-looking varieties are coming onto the market, I get excited each October, looking to see what the growers have come up with.  If the cold and snow can hold off a little longer, I still have another pumpkin or two to paint.  This is the first year I've tried painting them in this setting.  

While the Northeast was busy digging out from their early snowstorm yesterday, I was sitting on my front lawn, wearing my down coat, and trying to paint this second type of "warty" pumpkin.  Sorry, I don't know the name of the variety.  And I'd gotten a rather late start (3:30) and not only was the sun going down, but the rain was moving in.  Had to use my #8 flat brush and work fast!  The raindrops began just as I was putting on the finishing touches.

"Maples -- Early Spring" -- plein air field study -- oil on panel -- 8x10" -- Margie Guyot

The weather had turned foul. Most of the day it rained and snowed -- and it was May 8th! I stopped by to visit my friend Cal, who lives south of Charlevoix. He's got lots of big maple trees that fascinate me. Gnarly old things!

The rain and snow had stopped around 2:30 PM. The sun came out for about 5 minutes, long enough for me to see a bit of the highlights. Then it was obliterated by the clouds again. I set up my easel and had on my warmest winter coat: heavyweight down, plus my wolf fur trooper hat. That's some of what I wear when painting the ice pileups and it felt good! The wind howled. Where were my gloves, darn it?

Feeling rather miserable always has an effect on the speed with which I work. Sometimes that's a plus!

"Waves - Norwood Beach 2/19/20" -- plein air field study -- 10x20" -- Margie Guyot

It was a rare sunny day here in NW Michigan and it had me inspired! Not wanting to waste time showering, I pulled on snowpants on over my pajamas, threw on my heavy down coat, loaded my gear into the car and drove to Norwood Beach. The wind was brisk, raising tremendous whitecaps. And the wind had created some deep drifts in the snow since the last time I was there. It was about knee-deep in places as I headed out to my favorite spot.

The ice beyond the big pileup clumps looked treacherous. The crashing waves were causing the ice to undulate. Really cool to watch!

I was glad to have received my box of 10x20" stretched canvases in the mail. Painting in that format is rather new to me -- and I think it's just the thing for this type of landscape.

Wore my balaclava and new hat, which was a great combination. My face didn't feel cold (for once!). The new hat has a wide brim, is very lightweight and has a strong chinstrap. No fun having to chase your hat across the ice!