Plein Air Interlude

The title almost sounds like a song played on the clarinet! We had a brief and very cold break in the weather last week. I could not resist the gorgeous light and little to no wind. I have been wanting to paint this house that sits on the road looking over the ocean. We call it the "birdhouse" because, well, it looks like a giant bird house. Wait, I will show you:

 The road is between the house and the dune grasses. This house faces the ocean, which out here, is due west. That hill behind it means that it mainly gets afternoon light. That is fine with me as I love the afternoon light. The challenge is that this time of the year the afternoon light is really brief this far north. Still, I have been wanting to paint this since I first saw it on my daily walks.
I now have my plein air gear in a special pack pretty much ready to go. I still need to get paint tubes to keep in the pack too but that is a pricey proposition at this time so I "share" the paint between my studio and the plein air pack. I grabbed my gear, bundled up and went out to about this spot on the beach. Now before you look, I have to remind you that this is only my second attempt at plein air. As the weather improves and the days lengthen, I will be getting more in. Here was the result after about an hour and a half of painting:

The tide was just at its lowest point so I had plenty of room to move back and not worry about turning my back on the ocean. The sneaker or rogue waves here are startling at times, they travel quite a distance from the surf line. I have had to occasionally run all out to avoid being drenched.
I plan to go back several times and paint this. I would like to turn this into a studio piece. I am still fumbling for the colors and since time is of the essence, I don't always get them right. I had to exaggerate a few to get them to read properly. I guess that is part of the process. I didn't have time to get the dune grasses in properly but was able to hint at the driftwood logs on the beach.
So far people have been respectful and have kept their distance from me when I am painting. I am grateful for that at this point! As I get more comfortable with the process it will be easier for me to interact with any curious onlookers. On thing I definitely learned, it is really easy to get into that zone where you are not aware of time passing or what is going on around you. After the hour and a half, I suddenly realized that the light was gone and I was painfully cold! I haven't been that cold in a while. I could barely get my gear packed up. It was a good thing to observe. I really need to make sure the ocean can't reach me when I do these paintings and take precautions! Normally I am quite aware and even if I am not looking can tell by the change in sound when a sneaker wave is coming.
When I got home I spent the evening cozied up to the fire sipping hot cider and tea. As I mentioned, I want to do a few more plein air paintings of this house and then use the sketches as reference to paint a formal piece in the studio. That will be a fun addition to the challenge!
Finally, I am going to leave you with an important piece of my vision board. A tiny bit of background first. Years before I became a weaver and now a painter, I knew(sort of) what I wanted to do and started the journey to get here. Long before it was feasible to do this, I found this picture in a magazine that summed up what I wanted my life and house to look like. I kept it all these years and had forgotten about it. It recently resurfaced in a file when I was cleaning out stuff. I put it on my vision board. I was surprised to see that I have come a long way toward achieving this. I am not quite there yet but very, very close. Weavers, note the loom in the background. That is still part of my vision even though I currently don't have the room to set up my big loom.

It looks lie this studio is facing southwest. I would definitely want west facing windows but would also want large north facing windows for that beautiful cool north light and blackout curtains for when I need them on the west windows. But, I love this picture. I had no idea when I saved it I would be making my life like this picture. The power of visions! Now it is up on my vision board where I see it daily. I have to say, I believe I have a better loom and easel than what is in the picture but, this is what I want in my life,  painting, weaving, and a beautiful studio by the sea...
-Renee