Plein Air Painting along the Myakka River

Over the past few weeks I've had several days of plein air painting. Just recently the weather has returned to Florida norms, but when we were out painting it was pretty cool, well for Florida anyway. I am very fortunate to live just a few miles from the Myakka State Park. It is an excellent representation of "the real Florida." Nature rules here, with alligators crossing your path, wild boar, deer, and armadillos rummaging around for food, and the occassional panther or coyote. The park is a magical place.

We were lucky to have access to areas not usually visited by the public. So the nature was left to us. As I painted, armadillos ventured out from cover. There has been a lot of rain this winter and the park is flooded in many spots, bringing the animals closer to paths and roads.

At the edge of the prairie I set my easel. I generally work on objects very close up. Here I decided to paint the vista. This is a real challenge for me, not only did I work on a much smaller surface than I usually do, 12X12, I also have a real hard time with greens! But when all was said and done, it was a marvelous day with friends, painting the beauty around us. I was happy with my final result.

Myakka Prairie 12X12 Oil on board

Evelyn McCorristin Peters 2010

We also had the occassion to visit the grounds of the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art. We set up by Cà d'Zan Mansion where I sat upon the ground to paint the Banyan Trees. It was a cloudy and misty morning and so quiet. The feel of the atmosphere came through in my work.

The next piece actually took two visits. The first attempt was ended abruptly by rain. This is a beautiful spot. My friend and artist Jean Blackburn has a wonderful cabin in the woods around the Myakka River. I always love to come here where the river winds its way through the woods. I was very happy with the outcome of this piece. The first day the river was low and the clouds were dark.

The following week the river had risen, submerging a large portion of the fallen Cabbage palm. The sun was also out! I managed to bring it all together.

Here is the finished piece!

Fallen Cabbage Palm 16X16 Oil on canvas

Evelyn McCorristin Peters 2010

I also had the time to do a few quick sketches out on Siesta Key, the most beautiful beach!

Looking forward to getting out again next week!

For those interested in learning more about Landscape painting I've recently discovered a new book Landscape Painting: Essential Concepts and Techniques for Plein Air and Studio Practice It's really terrific with lots of exercises and great reproductions from various artists. Give it a look!

Next blog post will cover brush cleaning, toxins in paint, and oil mediums. They have all been a hot topic on Twitter lately!







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First Competition Entry: Application for 6th "Annual Paint the Town," St. Petersburg, Florida

I just finished an application for St. Petersburg's "Paint the Town Competition." This is the first time I've ever attempted to enter a competition, so hopefully all will go well. The event is held annually by the Morean Arts Center, it is a Plein Air Competition with the best of show receiving $1500. Frankly I just would like to be accepted into the event!
Here are the pieces I submitted for consideration:
(click on image below to see a larger representation)

The Ups and Downs of Plein Air Painting

I recently had a “Twitter Conversation” with the wonderful artist Debbie Lamey-MacDonald, (click here to go to her blog) @lameymacdonald (click her to follow her on twitter). Please make sure to visit her blog and view her beautiful work. On Sunday, she had posted her recent Plein Air efforts. Debbie lives in Nova Scotia, so it may have been her final opportunity to paint outdoors. Her results were well worth the effort of braving the cold as the sunset and all warmth left her surrounding.


I live in the very different climate of Southwest Florida. The weather allows me to plein air paint for most of the year. The year round temperate weather makes up for the lack of strong seasonal changes that others enjoy in the northern climates. The shift to fall and winter is much more subtle here. Most everything remains green, but the green is less intense and a few trees do lose their leaves, quickly regaining them in late February. Fall here often reminds me of spring in the Northeast, the temperatures are similar and so is the light. This is the aspect of a Florida fall I like the most, the change in light. Everything becomes a little defused, not as crisp and bright as it is in 100-degree weather.

I love to paint outdoors and 90 percent of the time I produce a piece of which I am proud. The 10 percent is brutal, and I had that experience this morning. I am working on a series of the world around me. I live in an isolated area surrounded by pastures and the Myakka State Park. It is common to see deer, wild boar, wild turkeys, and a Florida bobcat. There are alligators in my neighbor’s pond on a regular basis.

With the heat, humidity, wild animals, all sorts of creepy crawlies, it is important to be prepared. I always have an umbrella, sunscreen, a hat, tea tree oil for the fire ants, a first aid kit, and my cel phone, although it usually does not get a signal out here! I have a great half Julian easel with a backpack, so I can walk far into the woods to set up and paint whatever catches my eye.

Today I worked on the view from my backyard. The first larger piece did not turn out as I hoped, but I did learn from it as I always do from a piece that is not successful. I did not give up and completed the piece, which will go into my file of “what not to do!” I spent the next ten minutes doing a 5 x 7” study that I love. I advise everyone to do small paint sketches of nature; they will often become your most cherished little pieces!

More of my Plein Air work:
"My World ~ Out the Back Door"
"Plein Air Study ~ Gulf of Mexico"
"Longboat Key Mangrove"

En Plein Air: One of the First Filmed Plein Air Painters

This is a very quaint video of artist Philip Alexius de László (1869–1937) painting en plein air at St. Mark’s Basilica in Venice, Italy. I love to see the attitude, set up and attire of these early painters!



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"My World ~ Out the Back Door"

I am currently working on a series of the world around me. Here is a quick study, warm-up for the day.
The view out my back door.

Plein Air Study ~ "Gulf of Mexico"

I had the opportunity to go out and paint by the water now that the humidity is going down a bit. Great location in Sarasota, down the street from Mote Aquarium, lovely little park.

George Bernard Shaw said: "What is life but a series of inspired follies? The difficulty is to find them to do. Never lose a chance: it doesn't come every day."

And he said: "I want to be thoroughly used up when I die, for the harder I work, the more I live. Life is no "brief candle" for me. It is a sort of splendid torch which I have got hold of for the moment, and I want to make it burn as brightly as possible before handing it on to future generations."
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From "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" by T.S. Eliot

Let us go then, you and I,

When the evening is spread out against the sky
Like a patient etherized upon a table;
Let us go, through certain half-deserted streets,
The muttering retreats
Of restless nights in one-night cheap hotels
And sawdust restaurants with oyster-shells:

                                                                                                        

"What I Understood," by Katha Pollitt

The Mind-Body Problem) --                                                          

When I was a child I understood everything
about, for example, futility.
Standing for hours on the hot asphalt outfield, trudging for balls
I'd ask myself, how many times will I have to perform this pointless task, and all the others?
I knew about snobbery, too, and cruelty—
for children are snobbish and cruel—
and loneliness: in restaurants the dignity and shame of solitary diners disabled me,
and when my grandmother screamed at me, "Someday you'll know what it's like!"
I knew she was right, the way I knew
about the single rooms my teachers went home to,
the pictures on the dresser, the hoard of chocolates,
and that there was no God, and that I would die.
All this I understood, no one needed to tell me.
the only thing I didn't understand
was how in a world whose predominant characteristics
are futility, cruelty, loneliness, disappointment
people are saved every day
by a sparrow, a foghorn, a grassblade, a tablecloth.
This year I'll be
thirty-nine, and I still don't understand it.

Longboat Key Mangrove

Oil on Canvass

18" X 18"