Markleeville Plein Air Event is underway

"Hope Valley Peace" 8 x 16 oil

This is my first plein air event.  It is in a gorgeous part of the Sierras and it is very easy to find beautiful places to paint.  The hosting gallery is in Markleeville, CA, "Art and Soul" gallery.  It is a lovely gallery with paintings and sculptures and pottery, jewelry and other arts.  Markleeville is a cute little town.

The first day we (22 artists) checked in to the gallery in the morning where we were provided coffee, pastries, fruit and other snacks.  From there we all disbursed to paint scenes from Alpine County.  It was a little drizzly, and since I had another commitment in Placerville, I spent a few hours in the town, sketching various old buildings from the settler's era.

The next day our hostess (Evelyn Yonker) provided a lunch for us in Hope Valley.  I was about half-way into the above painting when I stepped back from the easel and a gust of wind came up and blew it face down.  The painting only had a little dirt on one end, and the puddles of paint in the easel were unscathed....but the tripod attachment to the painting box pulled out of the wood.  It was repairable, but not at the moment, so I sat the paintbox on the ground and sat in front of it and finished the painting.

"Mountain Wildflowers"  6 x 6 oil

The next morning I began painting in Hope Valley again - off in a meadow.  It is spring up there and the wildflowers are beautiful!

"Boulder Reflections" 8 x 10 oil

Then I drove up Blue Lakes Road.  Just before Blue Lakes is a lovely lily pond.  I also found a spot in the shade of trees which was nice because we are in a heatwave right now.  I'm glad I brought bug spray because the mosquitos were happy to see me!

While I was painting, I heard a noise in the water - a deer (maybe this is a doe Elk) with a tracking collar was walking through the pond, grazing here for a while.

What a great day!!!