"Fisherman's Island - November 28, 2009" -- plein air field study -- oil on canvas panel -- 8x10" -- Margie Guyot

It was cold. It was dark. It was windy. Sometimes it drizzled; sometimes it snowed. But my friend Janet had driven up from Dearborn and she wanted to go painting! Thank goodness for heavyweight goosedown coats!

She'd seen 2 paintings I'd done from this same spot earlier this fall. "Let's go there!" So we drove up to Charlevoix and headed off into Fisherman's Island State Park. It really was a dreary day, but it was far more enjoyable than staggering around in a shopping Mall.

I'd had a bout of insomnia the night before. Had gotten up and fixed a cup of Sleepytime Tea and pulled out Richard Schmid's book "Alla Prima: Everything I know about Painting". In it, he wrote that it's important to always paint the sky first, before the trees. I'd always wondered about that. This time I did paint the sky first and the trees second. Liked the way it turned out.

And it's always challenging to figure out how to handle the light-colored rocks in the foreground. It's not sand there but broken rocks.

I always love the look of Lake Michigan. The colors fascinate me. I love how the distant horizon looks so dark. Closer in, the water often takes a sage green or sometimes turquoise tone.

We were both pretty frozen by the time we finished our paintings. My friend apologized for dragging me out there. Ha! I told her I was glad she suggested it. Otherwise I'd have spent the time cleaning out the henhouse.

"Fisherman's Island #1" -- plein air field study -- oil on canvas -- 9x12" -- Margie Guyot

"Fisherman's Island #2" -- plein air field study -- oil on canvas -- 9x12" -- Margie Guyot

Today was supposed to be the last really nice day we'll have up here for a while. Rain is moving in tonight. I decided to let everything else slide -- and drive up to Fisherman's Island State Park, just south of Charlevoix. Last week I'd been mushroom-hunting up here and I knew I'd have to come back and paint this spot. It's one of the few areas that looks good at mid-day.

Both paintings were done within less than 50 feet of each other. I guess I just liked the design of this view, with the "white" gravel road and distant view of Lake Michigan. The fall colors have just begun to show.

"February Thaw -- Lake Michigan" -- plein air field study -- 9x12" -- Margie Guyot

This was the second painting of the day, started about 4:30 PM. The snow was melting fast in this 50 degree temperature, so I wanted to capture the look of it -- and the ice chunks on Lake Michigan. The sun was setting fast, and the shadows were deepening. Some of the snow, partially melted, had a rather smokey violet hue.

The distant water along the horizon always amazes me for its deep blue color. Not a true ultramarine, it's grayed-out a touch. Closer up, sometimes you see the most striking shades of paler blues, even ranging to turquoise and ochre tones.

The ice was breaking up and piling up in clusters all along the shoreline. As you can see, what remained of the snow showed in rows and rows of ripples. The endless wind creates all those ripples. Strangely enough, it wasn't as unbearably windy here on the shoreline (at Fisherman's Island State Park) as it was around noon today, near Ellsworth. Thank goodness.

The distant sky, right above the horizon, was a gray-blue: a far-off cloudbank. Somewhere it must have been snowing in the Upper Peninsula.

It's fun driving along, looking everywhere, all the time, trying to see amazing things: amazing shapes, stunning colors. I look for that stuff all the time. SO much more fun than doing taxes!