The Fields Project concludes...

Yesterday dawned cloudless and beautiful, perfect for an airplane ride over the countryside to see the designs the "field artists" had mowed into a meadow set aside for the Fields Project. I enjoyed seeing the designs (you can see part of the Origami Cow in the upper left), but I found myself more fascinated with the patterns of green, dotted with tiny white farm buildings -- so many different greens!

Our schedule took us to a dairy farm this time, where pale yellow buildings stood out boldly against the sky.

Our farm hostess hung quilts for us artists, and five of us took positions around the grounds to incorpoarte the quilt patterns into the scene. It's been quite enjoyable working with the other artists, who, like me, have come from other parts of the country.

Tonight all the artists and the farm families with whom we've been staying will gather for a picnic, and tomorrow the Fields Project will conclude with a show of our work. I'm looking forward to seeing my family here in a few hours. My husband flew into Chicago last night, and he, my son (who lives in Chicago) and my son's girlfriend will drive out here to see the sights and get a "farm fix."

The Fields Project

I am one of eight artists selected to participate in The Fields Project in Oregon, Illinois, a nine-day program that brings artists from all over the U.S. to paint the countryside, fostering connections between art and agriculture.

It took me two very long, very hot days to drive here, arriving on Saturday just in time for the welcoming party hosted by the Fields Project committee.

I headed out Sunday morning under a slow, cool drizzle, so my painting start was tentative.....a quick study of morning glories followed by a dash back to the car.

The sky stayed overcast, but that just made the greens more intense. Lots of rain in recent weeks has turned all the crops -- mostly corn and soybeans -- shades of emerald and lime. And in the midst of all this: quiet, blessed quiet. The trilling of birds and frogs is the only sound around.

By afternoon the sun came out and sent me seeking shade. Outdoor -- "plein aire" -- painting in the hot and muggy summers they get here in the Midwest can get you stewing in your own juices. Lowden Park, catching the cooling breeze off the Rock River and full of shade and water fountains, was a life-saver.

I ended the day with this study of a dynamic doorway in a barn not too far from the farm I'm staying at. The white roofs of farm buildings against the blue skies and green fields are breathtaking; I hope to paint more of them as the week unfolds.

Article selected for "The Painter's Keys"

I was very pleased to discover today that my article was selected for inclusion in Robert Genn's April 16 online letter to artists on his "The Painter's Keys" website. This was a very nice honor, as Genn has thousands of readers around the world and only includes 10 letters in each post. To any of my readers who aspire to paint, I highly recommend The Painter's Keys.

Here's what I wrote:

"I teach a workshop, "The Illustrated Journal in Ink & Watercolor," that speaks directly to this issue. In it I show students how to make quick watercolor and ink sketches that record moments in their lives. The students think they're learning techniques for travel sketching -- and indeed they are -- but I know what's happening is much more than this; they're learning how to paint. The results are always so much better in these sketching classes than in my more formal painting classes. Why? Because the students are relaxed (after all, it's just a "sketch" not a "painting") and absorbed in filling page after page with small studies, done from direct observation. They're drawing and coloring intuitively, with joy. When they come up for air, they seem surprised they've been having so much fun and that their tiny paintings are so expressive and charming. Apparently that's myelin in action, accompanied by intense, deep learning. I can't say enough about the value of doing lots and lots of small paintings, and I keep trying to pass that on to students. Some years ago, International Artist published a great book, Work Small, Learn Big: Sketching with Pen & Watercolor -- now, sadly, out of print, but still available in librairies -- that makes this same point. And online groups like SketchCrawl (www.sketchcrawl.com) and Urban Sketchers (www.urbansketchers.com), that encourage artists of all levels to get out and sketch, are creating an international community of like-minded folk. So, there's a lot of momentum, for this, Robert, and I'm glad to hear medical science is backing this up."

December in Colorado

More paintings of the prairie......

Sunset on the grasslands, near Greeley. Ink and watercolor.

Big sky at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge, north of Denver. Ink and watercolor.

Sunset near Pawnee Buttes National Grassland. Ink and watercolor.

My husband Al and I went back to Colorado the week after Thanksgiving to try out the area's wintery weather to be sure this is where we want to retire. We got winter a-plenty, with snow and temperatures in the 'teens, but the landscape was so beautiful we just bundled up like the locals and headed outdoors.

While we were in the Fort Collins area, we visited the headquarters of Judson's Art Outfitters, the company that specializes in supplies for plein aire artists -- that is, artists who paint outdoors, from nature. We got to meet owner Carl Judson, who gave us a tour of the store and the workshop where he designs the Guerilla Painter artist boxes. Here's the cozy store, full of goodies for outdoor painters:

And here's one of Carl's ingenious boxes. This is a Guerilla Thumbox -- Mine! And all ready for action. This is what I use on the road, when I've got to paint something a little more involved than a sketch. Mine's set up for watercolor.

This was a fruitful trip. I'll have more paintings to show shortly. Stay tuned.