Artist in Residence at Killarney Provincial Park 2012

Painting en plein air, the view from Sunset Rock in Killarney Provincial Park.  This is a popular spot in the campground.  People have been engaged and married at this spot, as the view is tremendous.  There is a little path beside site #77, that leads to this spot.  There is also a trail leading up to this place from the parking lot off of second beach. 

The weather was great and Buffy and Thomson, my dogs stayed with me from shortly after 9am until sundown as I painted.  They had pleanty of food and water and we had many visitors throughout the day. 

The finished painting is a gift to The Killarney Bay Inn who has been so kind over the years to our family.  Bill Pittock runs a great business, clean and friendly service, in the heart of Killarney, another home away from home.

 

Here is the finished piece. 

 

My husband dropped me off with our new aramid Prospector 17' from Nova Craft and he texted me to see when I was done...sundown again.  I finished off the trees on the left as he paddled towards me.  Thomson had a great swim and Buffy stayed with me in the shade.  A few scuba divers walked up to us at one point and told us about some huge bass that swam between their legs.  I watched kids jump off the rocks and they helped me figure out the smaller rocks off of what looks like a turtle's head.  I love the sense of motion in the water here and how the rocks and trees turned out on this panoramic shape.  What a great day!

This piece, called "Sanctuary", I completed after a workshop on Sunset Rock in the campground on the Friday of the AIR program.  I feel that all of the elements that I studied this week in the other two paintings worked in this one.  Taking the most interesting slice of the view from the lookout, I built up layers slowly, completing each layer like a finished piece.  What a great way to end a week filled with lessons where 40 students a day showed up and used up the painting supplies in abundance!  Terriffic turn out and such wonderful people to work with.  I love being the catalyst in finding the talented people who don't know they have that capability inside.

I'd like to paint en plein air this fall, but next is our trip is to Grace and Nelly Lake, where the Group of Seven painted.  I'll paint some small pieces that I can work on in the studio larger from my sketches and photos.