Reflections of an Artist

Painting on Location

Cathedral Rock Reflection

     I have finally returned from my extended painting trip and am starting to get back to normal. I am happy with the amount and the quality of work I completed. I can now say that it was a successful trip.

     If you have never done a plein air painting trip and are not familiar with the concept, here is a brief summary of the process.

• Pack the car to the brim with canvases, frames, paints, jackets, traveling easel, food and anything else you think you may need during the trip.
• Drive hundreds of miles to an amazing location where you have never been before to paint.
• Explore the new location for possible painting sights.
• Get up every morning before dawn to catch the early morning light.
• Paint.
• Explore some more.
• Paint in the late afternoon to capture the sunset light.
• Get home after dark, eat and crawl into bed at about 9 PM to do it all again the next day.

     I did this from September 30 to October 5 in Sedona, AZ and then went to Zion National Park, Utah from October 7 to October 10. I clocked 1450 miles on the car and painted ten paintings.

     I took this intense, productive trip for several reasons. First, I never painted Sedona or Zion and I wanted to experience each site to see if I could paint the area. Second, both have plein air events that I thought I would apply to next year and I wanted to familiarize myself with the local color. Third, I entered a plein air event at Yavapai College which provided me with a place to stay for a week while painting in Sedona.

     I loved painting in Sedona. The place is amazing with so much variety, spectacular beauty and wonderful people. I am sure I could paint there for years and never exhaust all it has to offer. I painted six paintings: love 4, like 1, only 1 failure. Very good percentage.

     Zion was interesting, with an other-worldly quality that made it a very unique spot but there are several problems with painting there. A large area of the park is only accessible via bus and with all my gear it is very problematic. The morning light is wonderful in the canyon but not so the afternoon light. At this time of year, the morning are very cold. With the high cliff walls on the west side, the sun is behind the mountain well before sunset so the light is either very intense or gone. The red rock is overwhelming and everywhere. Though I painted four paintings in Zion, I only like one. Not a great percentage.

     I concluded that the Sedona Plein Air Event would be a wonderful addition to next years calendar but I will pass on Zion. The Sedona event is a tough one to get into so my acceptance is far from guaranteed but if I can somehow manage to be accepted I will be a happy painter.