"Rex Beach Road - 12/12/09" -- plein air field study -- oil on canvas panel -- Margie Guyot

At last - a sunny day! We'd had blizzards since Tuesday night. Something like 15" of snow on the ground. I hadn't driven anywhere since our band concert Tuesday night, so today everybody and his brother had errands to run. I finally got my Soltek into the Flex and drove up US-31 toward Charlevoix. I turned west onto Rex Beach Road and thought this view was pretty interesting. No mountains here; only rolling hills, trees and lake. I love the rare days we have sun here because that's when the blue shadows occur.

It was a rather balmy 28 degrees, but it was also very windy. I was so glad I'd put on my heavy-insulated snow pants and heavyweight down coat. Otherwise it'd have been miserable.

This road leads down to one of my favorite painting spots: Rex Beach, which is one of the Antrim Creek Natural Area parks. The parks aren't plowed here in winter, so I probably won't be able to get down to the lake to paint unless the snow melts. Somebody decided they should pay something like $35,000 to put up some "interpretive" displays. I think more people would have preferred doing without the interpretive displays -- and having at least one of the area parks plowed at least once a month here.

I look forward to doing more still lifes, but at the moment my studio is very cluttered. I moved a ton of things out of a side storage room and took several days to insulate that room. My neighbor Jerry has been helping me build storage shelves for my large canvases and frames. Once this project is over, I can put everything away -- and get back to painting still lifes. Itching with ideas!

"Sunset -- 8-01-09" -- plein air field study -- oil on canvas panel -- 9x12" -- Margie Guyot

After painting in Petoskey all day for the Crooked Tree Paint-Out, some buddies of mine and I decided to meet at Rex Beach for sunset painting. Rex Beach is part of the Antrim Creek Natural Area, 2 parks that are along the east coast of Lake Michigan. The advantage to painting at Rex Beach is that you can drive your car right down to the water, instead of having to park and schlep all your gear for several blocks down a trail and across a sand dune.

It was a beautiful evening to be out on the beach! There were only a few swarms of newly-hatched midges. Not at all as bad as the swarms in June.

There was pizza there and I was offered some, but it's impossible to paint anything so fleeting while eating anything! I always use at least a #8 flat brush and paint as quickly as I possibly can. The light and cloud formations are changing every second.

"Sunset - July 29, 2009" -- plein air field study -- oil on canvas panel 9x12" -- Margie Guyot

When I don't make regular postings, some of my friends start to worry. Well, don't worry! I've just been very busy, doing a jillion things. Planting cherry trees, playing my sax in 3 bands, planting flowers. The most exciting thing I've been tied up with is the completion of my art studio. Finally the drywall is up. Trim is up. Everything is painted. The only holdup is a backorder on my track lighting. I'd been under the gun to get parts of the job done (such as priming and painting) so the contractor could do his job. It cut into my painting time, but the end is in sight. While waiting for the track lights, I've been putting things away and organizing.

I've been lusting to get back into painting large still lifes, but it's been impossible with my studio under construction.

The weather up here along the NW coastline of Michigan has been perfect this summer. Parts of the south have been suffering severe drought and heat. But not us! We've enjoyed most days around 70 degrees (nights in the 50's), with regular rainfall.

Last night was so beautiful I took my gear down to Antrim Creek Natural Area, south of Charlevoix, on the shore of Lake Michigan. It was about 8:30 when I drove over. A new hatching of midges was out. As I walked along the path that hugs Antrim Creek, there were little fish leaping out of the water, going for the midges. Had to keep my mouth closed when walking through clouds of the things. At least they weren't mosquitoes!

But what to paint? The water level of Lake Michigan is up about 6" this year, thanks to last winter's over-generous snowfalls. The big rock formations I painted last year are mostly under water. I always use a little viewfinder to try to see what might look like an interesting composition. I strolled along the shoreline, looking all over, trying to find something that excited me enough to paint it.

Finally I saw 3 big rocks that I thought I might as well try painting. After roughly drawing them in, a big cloud obscured the sunlight. Rats! It was the colors of the water and sand that had struck me as most interesting. And now they were dulled-down by the absence of sunlight. I turned around, feeling frustrated.

Egad! The sky was fabulous! Loved the colors! Loved the cloud shapes! I picked up my Soltek and did a 180 degree flipflop with it. Wiped out the rock outlines and painted this scene as quickly as possible. Sunsets change every second! In the distance you can see a bit of the Leelanau Peninsula on the horizon.

I really loved the gentle, rolling waves coming in and how they showed the darker water underside along with the dazzlingly-bright reflection of the sun. And overall, the water surface had a gorgeous viridian tone to it. One of these days I've got to remember to throw a tube of viridian into my bag! I had to kind of wing it with blue and a hint of yellow.

Having grown up in Iowa, Lake Michigan continually amazes me. The colors sure don't match what I saw in the Wapsipinnicon River! I've come down to the lake to paint many times and each time I see new things. This summer I've been trying to learn to capture the look and feel of the waves. Like a sunset, waves won't hold still, doggone it!

"Late Day -- Two Ponds" -- plein air field study -- 6x8" oil on canvas panel -- Margie Guyot

Yesterday had been a flurry of planting poppies and flowering tobacco in my garden, then hours of digging through paintings for Tvedten Fine Art, the gallery up in Harbor Springs. They called me about noon, saying they'd like more work on Monday. All needed to be varnished, signed and framed. Yikes! That took hours and hours.

About 8 PM I thought I'd drive down to Antrim Creek Natural Area and paint a lake scene. But when I got down there, nothing looked interesting. At least, interesting enough to paint. Too serene, too blah. I got everything back into the car and drove along Old Dixie Highway, looking for long shadows and patches of sun.

This spot is right at the NE corner of Old Dixie Highway and Rex Beach Road. I pulled my car up and parked right in front of a No Tresspassing sign. The signs always say you need permission to be on the land, but they never tell you who to ask. So I picked my way through the brush and set up my Soltek in front of this lovely pair of ponds. Fortunately, I'd thought ahead and had sprayed myself liberally with mosquito lotion, as they were ravenous.

I really love finding spots like this, with contrasting light and interesting shapes. Most of the scene was in shadow. The sky was changing to a pale viridian (it was nearing sunset) and the golden streaks of sunlight were raking across distant fields. It's so much more fun to paint either early in the morning or late in the day because of the dramatic lighting.

I decided to use a small panel (6x8") for this because I'd realized that I had a plethora of small frames.

Painted this entire piece using my favorite #8 flat brush.

"Sunlit Ferns" -- plein air field study -- oil on canvas panel -- 8x10" -- Margie Guyot

My buddies were already down at the beach, painting. We decided to meet at Antrim Creek Natural Area, our favorite spot. It's a long hike down to the beach from the parking lot, going through a beautiful woods, following Antrim Creek. I spied this little patch of sunlit ferns and somehow managed to climb down the steep, muddy, poison ivy-filled bank to get down to the stream's edge.

Overhanging branches and leaves were casting shadows on the water. Some of the trees take advantage of the situation and grow right up at the edge of the stream, sending roots right down into the water.

I really loved the bright green reflections on the water.

At one point, my friend Mike Toderoff tried to scare me by making a most convincing imitation of a bobcat. But I knew it could only be something Mike would do. Still, there ARE bobcats in this area, as I'd seen one in my front yard earlier this spring.

"Beach Study" -- plein air field study -- 6x8" oil painting on canvas panel -- Margie Guyot

This is one of the smaller paintings I've ever attempted. 6x8" is about the smallest size that my Soltek easel will hold. Still, I used a #8 flat brush for about 90% of this painting.

It was very sunny here -- but chilly. The good-old Goretex jacket saved the day again! I hiked down to the lakeside from Antrim Creek Natural Area and set up at my favorite spot. This time I finally remembered to bring the wet canvas carrier! It really helps. In the past I've ruined some paintings by setting them on the sand while packing up my equipment. The wind is always blowing here and more than once I've ended up with a sand-coated painting.

Glad to have my trusty hat and sunglasses! Normally I don't paint with sunglasses, but that sun on the water is quite glaring.

I love this spot and have painted it many times, including in several winter time blizzards. Painting water is a mystery! I plan on continuing with my water studies....