En plein air painting day

February Morning  8 x 10

Ahh the pleasures and perils of plein air painting. Even though the temps yesterday only danced around the freezing point, I painted outside anyway. I am fascinated by the play of light in open space and love the optimum lighting conditions that it provides. It's always a thrill to capture a fleeting moment, and I wish I could paint outside all the time but it's just not always possible. Yesterday was perfect for it because the sun was shining and it warmed me a bit. I admit that my toes were pretty cold after several hours, even with my wool lined Sorel boots on, but I survived. At least there are no bugs on my painting, which is what happens when I paint en plein air in the summertime.

I had intended to paint a view of Hog Island in Ipswich, down by Crane's Beach, but I caught sight of this beautiful tree lined road. It's the old road that winds up to Castle Hill and is rarely open, but I jumped the gate and found a nice area to set up my easel. When I first arrived at this spot in the morning the snow was still on the tree branches and on the road, though it had mostly had melted off the hillside grass, and by the time I left, a good portion of the snow had melted away. It's currently snowing again, so there will be more snowy vignettes ready to paint.