Another day at Harriman

An artist friend from Colorado Springs was visiting the area last week and we met up to do some plein air painting at Harriman State Park in Idaho.


Harriman has some beautiful views.  We walked around for awhile looking for the perfect spot and decided on a spot right beside the river.  You may notice the wide brim hats.  Why?  When you're painting you can't wear sunglasses and you need to have your eyes shaded to view the colors properly.  


This was my chosen scene.  So beautiful.


Here is my painting in its beginning stages.  Plein air is supposed to be quick without too much detail.  If you know how I paint then you know that goes against everything I do while painting.


It was a beautiful day to be outside along the river.  We used tons of mosquito repellant.  There was a high school orchestra camp going on and we were serenaded by their wonderful music all day.  Some of the kids came over and said such nice things about our paintings.  Made me feel like there is hope for my work yet.


Above is my friend's painting.  She was looking a different direction that I was.  She's been doing plein air painting for several years and it was nice to get some pointers from her.  Kind of funny how two different artists see things so differently.


Today I did something you're never supposed to do with plein air art...I got it out and finished it.  All my colors had been absorbed into the green when the painting dried so I needed to add some details and color back in.  Now it's done...maybe. 

Afterwards my friend invited me back to her AirBnB to have dinner with her and her husband.  The conversation over dinner turned to them talking about those damn liberals, democratic governors who are ruining everything, BLM, the rigged election, blah, blah, blah.  I guess everyone assumes that if you're white you have the same political views. I was polite, held my tongue, and then made a beeline out of there as quickly as possible.  I have zero desire to socialize with any reTrumplican.

Oh well, at least I had a great day of painting and a delicious steak.

Comments

Pat @ Mille Fiori Favoriti said…
I love your painting!

So sad that our country has become so divided. I remember when it did not really matter what political party one belonged to. We were all respectful of each other's opinions and could disagree without name-calling and derision.
July 22, 2021 at 1:45 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Skywatch Friday: A little close for comfort

Image
We had a fire out here on the eastern plains of Colorado last week.  I kept getting reports on the fire's location on my cell phone while I was at work.  Then a warning popped up that let me know it was time to hit the road and go home to prepare to evacuate the critters. When we initially got home it was still a decent distance away. Within 30 minutes it had come up over the ridge and flames were visible. The winds were gusting 45 to 50 mph.  It was a fast moving fire that burned 5,000 acres in only four hours.  Then the most amazing thing happened--the winds died down and the firefighters got in under control by 8:15 that night.  Thank you, Lord! Have you ever had to stand in your house and wonder what you should take out with you?  There were only two things I could think of...1) my critters and 2) my passport so I could still go to Europe next month.  Irv and I agreed that we need to get things organized so we can just grab a box...
Read more

Skywatch Friday: Upper and Lower Falls

Image
Yesterday I got to visit the recently completed Uncle Tom's Overlook along the Yellowstone River in Yellowstone National Park. This is the first really good look I've ever had at the Upper Falls of the Yellowstone River. These falls are almost as good as the Lower Falls. After leaving the Upper Falls you go downstream for a mile or so to.... ...Artist's Point which has the very best view of the Lower Falls (in my opinion).  In this location the view is perfect, so perfect that it look like a painting. This is just one of the features of this Park that make it my heart and soul.   Linking with Skywatch Friday
Read more

Skywatch Friday: Wild Horses!

Image
 The Salt River wild horses have been eluding us since we arrived in Arizona several weeks ago so today we went in search of them again. This time we started at the Coon Bluff Recreation Area.  First we went one way down the river, but soon had to turn back because we didn't bring any rock climbing gear. Then we turned around and went the other direction. The water in the river was crystal clear, but no sign of fish or horses. There are times when I really miss my dad especially when I want to know what kind of tree I'm looking at.  This one has something that resembles Spanish moss hanging down.  What is it? This riparian area that surrounds the river has all kinds of wildlife.  Today we saw theses white egrets. This gray heron was also hanging out in the distance. We met a guy carrying all kinds of photographic equipment and he said we needed to go about a quarter of a mile further down the river to find a spot where the horses cross every afternoon around 5:0...
Read more