Gull Lake

I’m on a painting trip with Kay Zetlamier, Gina Niebergall and Anette Power — all wonderful painters. This is our second year in Gull Lake (Spark Taylor couldn’t make it this year), we rent a cabin, take turns being responsible for dinner and mainly paint all day (with a break in mid-day) and talk painting all night!

This scene is just a short walk from our cabin. It was 40 degrees when I stepped outside to paint (dressed in long johns under my clothes) and by the time I finished it was hot! The challenge with painting Plein air is that the light is constantly changing. You can almost chase your shadows and end up with a mess. I was just at my friend Katherine McGuire’s house in San Francisco and she showed how one instructor at a workshop she just took shaded the shadows with a pencil so that even when the light changed, he had the shadows down. I tried that today and I think it kept me grounded! If you’re reading this, thanks Kathy!

Later on today, we’re going to go to Mono Lake – a favorite from last year. We especially like it towards evening. Going to relax and get ready for the next round!