To live in
Point Reyes is to live in a plein air painting.
This art form is a natural extension of our spectacular setting and our
clement weather. I gravitate to these local
paintings, much as I am drawn to the land itself, and I have often thought, I’d
like to give this a try.
And so it
was that PRNSA offered a plein air weekend workshop, and I signed up
immediately. I gathered up Annie’s
desiccated brushes, mineral spirits, and crimped tubes of oil paints. A trip to Utrecht filled in the gaps of
required colors and supplied several canvases.
Best of all, be still my heart, I purchased a wooden box easel, which I
have wanted as long as I can remember. I
have a vision of my future, a lady in faded blue with my trusty straw hat, a patient
lab at my side, in a sunny field of poppies and butterflies, painting away the
hours.
Turns out, easier said than done! What an eye opening this weekend has been! Just the mixing of paint alone is a challenge, let alone its application. My heart sank at first, but I think I could get the hang of it with time. Our teacher said, “A painting a day, and you will get better.” We’ll see.
