"Sunlight in Cedars" -- plein air oil study -- 11x14" on masonite -- Margie Guyot

Finally I'm done moving! And I'll agree with the statement that "moving is hell"! The past 2 months have been a non-stop marathon of packing/discarding/cleaning/repainting rooms/washing/driving, etc. Yesterday morning Detroit was getting pounded with 8" of snow, but up here in NW Michigan it was sunny. I hiked through our 12" of snow to way back in the swamp, near the little trout stream, in search of my little Christmas tree. While working in the auto factory, I was always too worn-out to put up a tree, decorations or to bake cookies. But now that I'm retired, I can start to enjoy life again.

While hiking along, I noticed this one area full of old cedars. I made a mental note to come back here to do some painting.

I finally found it: the equivalent of The Griswold Family Christmas Tree. Remember National Lampoon's "Christmas Vacation"? My tree was similar: a giant! After dragging it back through the woods, cutting it down a bit & wrestling it upstairs, I decorated it with all my antique glass ornaments I'd squirreled away from garage sales.

The weather looked good in the afternoon, so I lashed my outdoor easel onto the old sled. That sled I'd used as a kid in Iowa, and it was old when I got it. I think maybe it'd been my brother's. So it's probably at least 70 years old now. I pulled my easel through the snow, following the trail I'd left with the tree.

This spot is so pretty, deep in the woods, with huge, old cedars on a small hillside. I loved how the sunlight fell across the snow. Some animal tracks there -- maybe those of a deer? As I painted, the only sounds I could hear were the wind in the trees and an occasional raven. I had on my heavyweight down coat from eBay, moonboots I'd saved from the 70's, my wolf fur trooper hat and wool mittens. The heavy forest had protected me from the bitter winds. This was a fun afternoon. I'll have to make more trips into the woods for paintings.

"October Fishermen -- Kent Lake" -- plein air oil study -- 9x12" stretched canvas -- Margie Guyot

I don't know why, but I seem to be attracted to zig-zaggy patterns this year! Notice the water ripples in the lower left? I've done lots of still lifes using a zebra-patterened fabric as well. And when I go plein-air painting I wear my zebra-print cowboy hat. Hmmm.... Must be all the oatmeal?

Anyway, my friends & I were out at Kensington Metropark yesterday morning, painting the beautiful fall colors. Of course this particular painting shows no bright oranges, yellows or reds, but what I loved was the bold, angular composition. I have a horror of painting bland, trite scenes of water and fluffy foliage. Maybe because I've painted hundreds of that type of thing already. So when I saw this wooden fishing dock and ziggy-zaggy ripples with cloud reflections and distant shoreline, I knew I had to paint it. There were a couple fisherpeople out there and I threw them in (into the painting, not the water -- ha ha!).

The wind was ferocious, I might add! Had to hang onto my hat. 2 of my friends had their easels blow over & left in a huff. But the worst wind I'd ever painted in was so bad, I had to tie my easel onto a tree to keep it upright. All in suffering for one's art.....

The distant shoreline reminded me of something that Rockwell Kent used to do. He reduced much of his northern landscapes to bold, simple shapes. I happened upon his work last year and really love it. I'd love to visit his stomping grounds up along the Newfoundland coastline for a painting trip! In fact, all last year I read just about anything I could find on the Arctic, Baffin Island, Newfoundland, Greenland and that general area. Since I just bought a house up near Charlevoix, I don't have the $$ to take any trips for a while. But it's a goal!

Also -- I decided to drop my website (margieguyot.com) and change the name of this blog to margieguyot.blogspot.com. The website was an expensive beast that never paid off for me. But I love this blog --- and it's FREE! Thanks for looking!