"The Keweenaw Star" -- plein air field study -- oil on canvas panel -- 8x10" -- Margie Guyot

This was the first of 3 paintings I did yesterday. It was the first afternoon of the big plein-air paintout, put on by the Charlevoix Circle of Arts. The town was crowded with people, up for the annual Applefest. And the weather was FOUL! I had on several layers of clothing and a hat, but still felt chilled. I think the temperature was in the 40's, with dark skies and relentless wind.

The paint-out rules allowed artists to sign-in and get our canvases stamped on the back, beginning Friday at 2 PM. Two new artist friends of mine from Dearborn (Janet and Kathy) had come up and I wanted to go painting with them. Janet set up her easel overlooking Lake Charlevoix, enamored of the distant view of the blue mountains. She loves grand vistas -- exactly the type of scene I avoid. Where to paint? Where to paint?

I wandered across the bridge, toward the boat harbor and saw this big boat: the Keweenaw Star. Somebody was aboard. I asked them how long they'd be docked there. I've learned to ask because sometimes I'd be 10 minutes into a painting and the boat would drive off! They weren't planning on taking off until 6 PM. Good!

As you probably know, I love big "chunks" of things to paint (as opposed to distant vistas). I love the shapes, colors and reflections. It was a very dark, gray day, but I knew the water would still have interesting colors and reflections. Painting boats is always a challenge, but it's fun.

I did 2 more paintings after this one, continuing until well after dark. It was too dark to photograph them, so I'll post them next time.