The Deep Woods

 Here are a couple more plein-air studies from earlier this summer. This first one was part of a multi-painting experiment replacing Ultramarine Blue with Prussian Blue on my palette. I learned that even though I LOVE Prussian Blue (because it mixes really well with Transparent Red Iron Oxide and it's also transparent), when I didn't have a cool blue on my palette then my paintings always turned out looking like aged photos or something you see through rose-colored glasses. This painting feels scorched and dehydrated to me- I really want to put some Ultramarine Blue into it but then I'd have to repaint the whole thing or the blue would be out of harmony with the rest of the painting.

The second one was the first painting I'd done outside in months, and it was a warm-up painting and turned out tighter than I like, but I had fun with all of the opportunities for designing shapes in this scene. This was in Jewel Basin...in the top of the mountain range wall bordering Kalispell, MT on the eastern side. I painted it from a camp chair in our camping site while my toddlers "cooked" gravel and snow with all of my cooking utensils. :)

Jewel Basin

Staying in Jewel Basin for a weekend was a treat and we got to meet lots of great people. One couple said they came from Billings and were thinking about moving to Kalispell because they are liberal (politically) and the people in Billings are so close minded to liberals. I almost laughed out loud but caught myself and politely told them I thought they might find some of the same problem here. We hiked up to the top of Lower Aneas a couple of times, and a billy goat threatened to knock over my easel while I painted the view. When I finished that painting, it was a mixed media piece with about 60 gnats and mosquitoes in it, plus some sticks and leaves. I had so many bites on the back of my neck they all blended together. But it was good practice and I was reminded how easy it is to paint too dark when you're in direct sun.

Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. But I'm always happy if I get the chance to try. And it was nice to come back to camp after my turn to paint and find that James had built a fire and gotten out the food. Food fixes everything. And herbal tea with honey. Mmmm.

Paint Camp Week One: Barretts, MT

We weren't really sure where we'd camp that night, but the first day on the road landed us in this gorgeous spot on the Beaverhead river. We were grateful to find a free campsite, a fire pit, an old fashioned hand pump with clean well water, and a few friendly neighbors. So we set up camp and stayed here for a week. With plenty of organizing and logistical problems still to solve, painting time this week was less than the place deserved, but still gratifying. James and I have long faced the problem of how we can both paint with two little kids without neglecting them. Here it's an easy fix... one of us paints while the other plays with the kids. :) One week he paints mornings and I paint afternoons, and then the next week we switch. The awesome thing about painting all week in the same location is that you can do a finished (and even large) painting without being rushed so long as you get several days of similar weather throughout the week. I did one painting multiple days from 8:00- 10:00, and then another (multiple days) from 10:00- 12:00 of a different scene. That way I didn't get frustrated with the changing lighting since I'm not that fast yet. It's working great so far.

Breaking in a new Dutch Oven

Breakfast with Daddy

The best ready-made composition was from right in our campsite. :)

Free entertainment...

Our "New" Paint-Mobile: Before and After

I'm so excited to finally be on our way to this summer's paintings! It's been a huge project (that I got us into), but James has been supportive of my crazy idea -as usual-, and the nasty old camper we bought is finally livable. We're both looking forward to the next month and a half of painting and family time... on our own schedule... without deadlines.  I'll post details of the camper remodeling process if anyone requests them, but otherwise I'll just stick to some before and after pics.

Before:

 

 

After:

The New Roof/Cieling

 

Dining to crib conversion:

It's cozy for a family of four, but we only really sleep in here anyway... and we like it. :)

In the Works

I've slowed down on posting of late, and thought I'd take a minute to give an update on our exciting new plans! While James spends his days in the beautiful foothills near Tetonia, Idaho taking K-12 graders on nature walks and teaching art skills along with plant ID and geology, I'm busy packing all of our junk (over half of it indispensable art supplies) and planning how to remodel our recently acquired truck and camper. In June we'll officially be free for two months to head to the mountains and paint landscapes outdoors in parts of Montana and Idaho, including Glacier Park. Woohoo! Oxygen and sunshine, here we come! I can't wait. Except that I have a ton of work to do before we can go. Like take the roof of the camper off and rebuild it. And stuff. Lol. Here's what our truck looks like:

And the camper looks something like this:

These aren't my photos- It's too dark out to take photos right now so I grabbed these off the internet.
The inside of the camper is a hideous burnt orange, brown, and tan, with nasty old wood paneling and retro linoleum that doesn't match. So it's all coming out. James and I already ripped out the ceiling and insulation, and some of the wall paneling. Tonight I'm working on recovering the seat cushions. I found some upholstery fabric on etsy that I absolutely LOVE and it was only half the price of the fabric I found anywhere else of the same dimensions.

I'm going to paint the walls grey, the trim white, and put in a faux wood floor and countertop- probably dark. I'll post some before and after pics when I get that far. :)

I've also been thinking about how we'll store wet paintings, and am planning to build some sort of wet painting rack above the table. Also, since we're taking two toddlers, I need to build an easily removable railing between the table area and the floor so they don't roll out of bed. Yes, a camper crib. :) Wish me luck!