Right Turn

Right Turn, 6 x 8

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This is the last of the paintings from the PAA retreat, done Sunday morning before Laurel and Julie headed back to Austin. The water here looks muddy, but being the Guadalupe, it is actually very clear. The brownish color is from the reflections of the ledge faces in the early morning sun.

Julie's View

Far Shore, 8 x 10

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Here's the next in line of the the subjects from the PAA retreat. This is a look across the Guadalupe from Julie Davis' property in Hunt. It's a beautiful place, especially as the late afternoon sun reflects off the far bank. I hope she'll invite me back.

Camp Mystic

Camp Mystic, 8 x 10
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Another piece from the PAA retreat. This one was from Saturday morning at Camp Mystic, a girl's summer camp on HWY 39, which runs alongside the Guadalupe for several miles. 

An interesting note — Camp Mystic's property ends at the spillway indicated here by the abrupt end of the water at its top edge. Just out of frame to the left, about ten feet above the level of the water shown, there was a kayak lodged in the canopy of a tree. Since the tree in question was downstream from the spillway, which itself was at least seven feet tall, the kayak had to have been floating at least seventeen feet above the normal level of the river where the tree stands. Camp Mystic, indeed.

I later found out that several days before our visit, the area upstream had received about ten inches of rain over two days, causing the Guadalupe to flood far beyond its banks. Kayak mystery solved, but an awe inspiring sight, nonetheless.

Afternoon Drive

Afternoon Drive, 8 x 10

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Above is the first of several paintings I attempted on the Plein Air Austin retreat last weekend. Julie Davis knows the area around Hunt, Texas very well and she cheerfully shepherded the rest of us to some beautiful venues throughout the weekend. This spot is a few hundred feet from the entrance to Camp Waldemar, a beautiful children's summer camp along FM 1340. While I painted this view, Julie, Trish Seigel and Laurel Daniel stood directly behind me, painting a horse stable just across the road. 

Ingram Home

Ingram Home, 12 x 12

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Here is the painting shown on the easel in the last post, after tweaking. I wasn't able to get to it, or any other paintings, until today. 

Tomorrow, PAA is painting just below Mansfield dam, which happens to be Texas' tallest. I've been looking forward to painting out there, but it now looks like it will be dicey, since I'll have my Irish Terrier, Major, in tow. He's fine until another dog shows up, but at that point focusing on painting becomes a whole other challenge. Wish me luck.

All Along The Guadalupe

This weekend, Plein Air Austin had its annual retreat in Hunt, Texas, along the Guadalupe River in the Texas Hill Country. With one of Texas' most beautiful rivers full from recent rains, non-stop sunshine and temperatures in the seventies all weekend, the timing couldn't have been better for anyone interested in painting en plein air. The picture above shows the last venue of five I painted in forty-eight hours. That's probably no big deal for some, but for me, it is definitely a lot of painting. I'll be posting each one separately, after I've had a chance to make last minute tweaks.