Vanishing View

How many of you drive into Eagles Mere coming from Muncy Valley by taking the original road into Eagles Mere off of Rt. 42 via Laporte Ave. (right before our once loved and still very missed JR'S store)? Since I live near this part of town I take the road often. And just as often I forget that Laporte Ave. sits on a beautiful ridge top - whether you look right or left hillsides and mountains are in view. On this particular day of painting those of us who could take time away from sports week experienced some of those fabulous views from Joanne and and Sonny Smith's property. Joanne had already been out gardening prior to our 9:00 AM arrival. Everywhere you turned there were beautiful little flower "stories" around their property. A reclaimed wooden chair became the perfect "frame" for a grouping of flowers. A wicker seat sitting beside the driveway was brimming with flowers of every color. Since I am not a gardener I appreciate these little masterpieces. It was like walking into a special little garden museum with birds and butterflies floating in and out of the "pictures".  Speaking of which, I took many pictures of her little gardens and told Joanne they will keep me very happy over the winter months painting them even if I can't grow them. Our choices  of painting subjects didn't end there. They also have one priceless view of North Mountain and on this day the moist atmosphere made for some interesting and exciting challenges. We all saw it a little differently with various shades of blue and green. It is truly amazing how North Mountain can create so many different moods depending on the day or time of day you view it. Drive slowly the next time you drive down Laporte ...  and revel in the Vanishing Views.A special thanks for the lemonade - we all loved it!  .

Keystone Mountain Park

Our Endless Mountains are so beautiful. How many of you find it difficult to stay focused when driving on our roads around the area? There isn't a bend in the road, on any given day, that I don't appreciate some scene that could have easily been pulled from an Impressionist painting. There are times I actually appreciate being stopped on the road due to construction so that I can just look around. Keystone Mountain Park is one of those places you drive by all the time, but you never really get to enjoy. Last Wednesday we were blessed with perfect light and refreshing air for painting. I do forget who suggested this place to paint and I thank you - I think. We all fell in love with the quaint old stone building next to the lake. However...even if you understood two point perspective the challenge of this building's roof line was almost overwhelming. Did that deter us from attempting the almost impossible? Not in your life. I took enough pictures to do four paintings - truly scenes to capture again and again. I will say most of us are not in any rush to do another building. So the next time you are stopped on the road be sure and check out the scenery and let us know if you have found another perfect place to paint.

Lake Mokoma

Once again Mother Nature tested us.
Thank goodness for our hostess, Betty Underwood, at Lake Mokoma. Without her coffee, tea, muffins, cookies and most important her screened in porch we may not have stayed to paint. Most of us ventured out and walked along the lakeside in the rain to see if we truly wanted to be plein-air painters. However, the smell of fresh brewed coffee pulled us back undercover. The gray weather created a true mood for our paintings, but not our spirits. Those of us who "braved" the weather were glad we did.

A Perfect Day On the Lake

What a Perfect Day to spend sometime near the lake. Lucy Stitzer graciously invited us to paint in and around the old Ellicot cottage renamed the Ellis cottage. The lovingly restored home, it's outbuildings, stone pillars, and landscape created some fascinating drawing and painting challenges. The day started with clouds, but the sun broke through periodically which created some interesting light patterns on the path and in the woods surrounding the cottage. Those on the path looking out 0n the sun drenched dock did some wonderful compositions incorporating the coolness of the path and the warmth on the dock. I personally love the look of an Adirondack chair on any dock or deck. However, for me, this usually causes an anxious state of mind since I have such a difficult time getting them into perspective. . I chose a different subject of an old wood drainage pipe. Missy and I chose our pastels to work with since the day had started out quite cloudy. She did a lovely painting of the lake with a boat house. As for me, I am not sure I was as successful, but that is what this group is all about. We are free to experiment. It is not important that we finish our work or necessarily love what we have done. What is important is that we have had the opportunity to exercise the right side of our brain. Our left side stays pretty busy reasoning and assessing our daily life, thus this moment of peace on Wednesday morning refreshes us like a dip in the lake on a perfect day.

Solamere

What I love about painting with a group of people is that we all perceive things around us differently. That's what makes this opportunity to paint together so wonderful. I look at my front yard everyday and often don't appreciate it enough until I have been away from Solamere for awhile. We all were exhausted from the usual busy July 4th weekend and were looking forward to some real "peace and quiet" on the 6th. (My house still had the remnants of baby and toddler toys about the floor). So, prior to driving down to my house I suggested that they might want to paint the great views of North Mountain coming down the hill instead of the grounds around my house. However, upon arrival no one set up much farther than 50 feet from the house. Each felt there was more than enough to paint right here. It reminded me of how Andrew Wyeth painted hundreds of paintings in and around Chadd's Ford. Very few of his paintings were ever painted more than a mile away from his beloved home. Truly, a reminder to us all how lucky we are - especially to be in Eagles Mere.

We took time to critique our work on the porch this week. I hope everyone found it helpful and enjoyable - I know I did. However, I forgot to take those close ups of all of our paintings so please excuse my negligence.

Next Wednesday we will be painting at Lake Mokoma. Remember all are welcome. We learn from each other and appreciate each persons unique perspective. As always we meet at the outlet pond.

Dincher's Produce

Our Wednesday group of artists "produced" paintings
even without me on June 30th. Fruits and vegetables were highlighted on a picture perfect day. As I sent them off from the outlet pond to Dincher's all wearing sweaters and jackets who knew that unreal heat was going to hit us hard 48 hours later. I think this would be a great place to paint when the fall flowers are hanging from the beams and the squash harvest is in.

Birds, Bees, and Butterflies at Birdsong Winery

We couldn't have ordered a more perfect day to paint. The birds were singing as we drove up to Birdsong Winery outside of Dushore. John Crane was a perfect host showing us around the vineyard and his wine making shed. Now that his grapes are six years old he is quite proud of the fact he can now make his own wine from the European grape he has planted. The four of us can attest to how difficult it was to find a spot to paint (as you can see from these few pictures). There were so many wonderful things around to entice us from barns, sheds, grapevines, hillsides, unusual trees - the list goes on and on. John said we are welcome to paint anytime at Birdsong - this is a must do again when more of you can join in the fun. Even on a rainy day there are places to sit that are undercover - YEAH.

NOTE: Since Dincher's was rained out on June 16 we will try again for next week, June 30th, and save Joan's place for another day. Prepare your palette to paint flowers, fruits, and vegetables. Remember to meet at the Outlet Pond to carpool at 8:30.