Stems Plein Air 2014 - part 1

In May, I participated in Stems Plein Air at the Overland Park Kansas Arboretum. The event started off with an evening quick paint. It was a wild weather day, with early storms and an overcast sky. I debated whether I should even make the trip out to the arboretum, assuming that the event would be rained out. Luckily, the rain held back, although the clouds remained.

To compensate for the lack of a clear light source, I chose to paint a group of peonies using the lighter sky and the pond as a contrasting background to their intense color.

In order to get the view that I wanted, I had to set up my easel without the legs extended to get down low enough. Sitting can be a challenge, as I prefer to stand and frequently walk away from the painting to get a more holistic view.

The starting horn blew at 6pm, and we were off and running. I had the composition blocked in by 6:15.

By 7pm, the sun began to emerge from the clouds for a bit.

Here's the final painting. Completed about 7:30. At that point, I took a walk around to see all of the other great works by the artists.

I was lucky enough to win one of the 2 purchase awards that evening. A good start to a great event. 2 more weeks to go!