Farmhouse Morning, 8x10, oil, Amish country, Honey Brook, Pennsylvania, farmhouse, morning light, Autumn, pumpkins, landscape

 "Farmhouse Morning", 8x10

Back in the fall, we took a trip to Amish country in Pennsylvania. We stayed at an organic farm, and the owner introduced us to all his chickens, roosters, goats, cows and ponies.

We had an awesome week and the farmhouse was especially rustic and cozy. I so enjoyed sitting on the porch in the morning, having my coffee, and watching the hens and roosters come up on the porch and walk around.

There was also a kitten who lived under the porch that became my best friend after I gave him half of my tuna salad lunch.

It took me a while to get together the nerve to paint the porch scene. There was a lot going on with the light and shadows, the stone walls and perspective and I was a little intimidated by it.

But I knew it was a good composition and so I set my mind to painting it, and this is how it turned out.

Overall, I was happy with it, but think it would be even better in a larger format. We shall see if I attempt that or not.

Thanks for visiting my blog. See more of my paintings at my website.

The Lake House, 8x10, oil on panel, plein air, Lake Glenville, Cashiers North Carolina, mountain retreats, paintings of lakes, Cashiers art, Lake Glenville paintings

 The Lake House, 8x10, oil on panel, plein air

The second day of my little mini vacation at Lake Glenville  arrived once again overcast, foggy and threatening rain.

Although we had hoped to hike to some waterfalls, we decided that under the circumstances, it was probably not a great plan since some of the hikes involved treks down into chasms with slippery rocks and such. So the morning was spent painting a floral from a bouquet of snapdragons that I purchased at the Farmer's Market in Cashiers.

The afternoon weather was unfortunately the same as the morning with threat of rain increasing. We had an outstanding lunch of homemade black bean burgers and fresh fruit at Cornucopia Restaurant in Cashiers, and after returning back to our Airbnb, I decided to have another go at the gorgeous lake scene I had painted the day before.

This time I decided to change the composition a little by inserting a bit of the neighboring house.

Overall, I felt more confident the second day, and realized that I just need to get outside and paint and my confidence and abilities will return!

I painted in many competitive Paint-outs over the years and it is sad that I wasted 2 years as a result of fear of more skin cancer and other stuff that is somewhat preventable with a little caution.

Here was the scene from the porch as I painted it.

I loved the fact that porch was covered, and I could paint to my heart's content without myself or the painting getting drizzled on!

"The Lake House" is available for purchase for only $99, through my website. Please click here to purchase.

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View From the Porch, 8x10, oil , paintings of lakes, water view, plein air, small paintings, all prima, Lake Glenville, North Carolina art, Cashiers art, mountains and lakes

View From the Porch, 8x10, oil (Note: you can click on the image to see it better.)

When we decided to go to Cashiers for a mini vacation, I was uncertain whether or not to bring my paints. It was a short trip, after all, and sometimes it's not worth it to schlep all the paints and stuff. But I had bought a small Plein Air cigar box easel over 2 years ago, and when Covid began, and had yet to use it!

Between being isolated through Covid lockdowns, a new and serious bout with skin cancer, and a bunch of other annoying things, I simply stopped painting outdoors.

Unsure if I would ever paint en plein air again, I packed my gear after 2 years of not painting outdoors and we headed up to the North Carolina mountains. 

As it turned out, our AirBnb lake house was just the inspiration that I needed to re-ignite my joy in painting outdoors!

The view of Lake Glenville was even better than the description, and although we arrived to overcast weather, my husband and I relished eating our lunch out on the deck overlooking the lake.

After lunch, I took out my new easel, the few brushes and paints I finally decided to bring , and started to paint.

I was sadly out of practice, but had a great deal of fun anyway!

"View from the Porch" is available on my website for $99. Just click here to purchase through PayPal.

Thanks for visiting my blog and return often to see more paintings!

 

"Rainy Day Bouquet", 8x10, oil on panel, plein air, rainy day, all prima, paint from life, soft color, impasto

SOLD

"Rainy Day Bouquet", 8x10, oil on panel, plein air

We took a brief trip to Cashiers  North Carolina and although our Airbnb is lovely and has a view of Lake Glenville, the weather has been damp and rainy.

We had hoped to do some outdoor activities, but with the bad weather, I was happy to buy a bouquet at the farmer's market in town and paint the flowers out on the beautiful porch overlooking Lake Glenville.

So that is what I did.

This painting can be purchased through PayPal by using this link on my website. Thanks for visiting my blog and have a great day.