Sunny, But Soggy

I'm very eager to do some plein air painting of spring flowering trees, but they're not blooming yet. Heck, they're still just budding. But we were rewarded with an 80+ degree day today, so I had to paint. I also wanted to try out this new Gloucester-style easel and palette box I bought in December. My intention was to paint with traditional brushes, but after the initial blocking in, I found I wasn't enjoying it. I switched to my knives and immediately my arm moved with a life of its own. This painting confirmed yet again that knife painting is the way I love to paint.

As for the subject matter, I did a little driving around and ended up at Starr-Jaycee Park. I loved the ponds of water still left from melted snow and the reflections of the trees in them. The screams and laughs of kids playing at the playground nearby added to the optimistic feel of spring. Although, this was a larger canvas than I'm used to for plein air, I was able to get this done in 3 hours. The larger size forced me to paint quickly and I think the final piece has a nice energy to it.

Because of the ponds and the muddy grounds, I titled this "Soggy, But Sunny", a term modeled from what a weatherman might say on the news. I figured that since the good weather got me outside to paint, that kind of title is appropriate.