"Rain Squall over Lake Michigan" -- field study 11x14" -- oil on canvas -- Margie Guyot

"Approaching Storm" -- field study -- oil on canvas -- 9x12" -- Margie Guyot

This morning I looked out the window and saw some fabulous clouds out in the west. Hot damn! I was especially fired up to go painting because the Tom Thomson book had just arrived yesterday. He's one of the Canadian Group of 7, who did a lot of plein air painting in the Algonquin area. His colors and sense of composition intrigue me. I just got the book, so don't be too critical yet of my compositions!

"Approaching Storm" was the first painting of the morning. I loved the way that big cloud stretched forward and diagonally. I'd set up my easel on the sandy beach, nearly getting my Explorer stuck in the wet sand. Good thing it's got 4-wheel drive. The wind was brisk, but it wasn't bitterly cold. Still, I knew I had to hurry with this painting. Good thing it was relatively simple. What I'll probably do later, in the studio, might be to increase the contrast a bit. In this photo it looks a bit pale. As I removed it from the easel, the rain started in.

I decided to go home, but as I got about 2 miles down the road, the rain stopped. So I drove back and did a second painting. This one, "Rain Squall over Lake Michigan", had to be another quickie. Those clouds were moving fast! I loved the many layers in the clouds and the little pocket of golden light at the left. The colors of the lake continue to amaze me. Before I moved up here, I had no idea how turquoise the water often looks.

Again, the rain and sleet started up just as I finished this painting. As I drove out through the park, everywhere I looked, I saw a Tom Thomson painting! Oh, to learn his feeling for composition and color!