Snap Shots and Painting in the Great Outdoors

Summer is always filled with outdoor experiences and lots of travel. Vic and I love road trips and I make sure to pack my camera, paint box and canvas with me because you never know what you'll see or who you will meet along the way.

LOCATION LOCATION LOCATION

I look forward to painting on location  during our road trips. Painting is a must but I need to do a bit of planning and make sure we have enough time to find a quiet spot with a nice log or a provincial park picnic bench and settle in somewhere comfortable for a few hours. After finding a breathtaking view which usually includes a few rocks, a tree and a cabin by the lake, I set up with paints, brushes, panels, or canvas and this is when I notice it's the exact time that the bugs find me. Bugs love me and all the insects in the area end up buzzing in my ear, crawling up my pant leg or doing the backstroke through my paint washes on my canvas. It is a minor distraction and I am learning to tolerate them. I must remind myself that I am invading their turf, their territory and natural habitat.



study/sketch of McNeill Bay, Victoria B.C.
5 x 7 in acrylic painting by Barbarsa Weaver-Bosson
all rights reserved

TOO BRIGHT

Vic's favourite tool for painting is his computer which also includes his stylus,Wacom tablet and art software program Illustrator, Painter and Photoshop. For our painting trips here and abroad, Vic envisioned getting a travel friendly lap top that he could easily use to sketch or paint on location. After borrowing a friends laptop for the day trip to the beach, he quickly found out the outdoor light creates a glare on the monitor and makes working on outdoors on a lap top a big disappointment. Vic's mentioned that perhaps if we got him a big dark tent to work in, he could then poke his head out through a peep hole to catch a glimpse of the lake or landscape or the mountain goat peacefully grazing by the tent. If we get him a lap top, then we could get the tent, an espresso machine, table, air conditioner, lounge chairs, a printer and a cooler filled with fine wines and cheeses.

SNAP
For the quick road side stops, I do love taking snap shots and 60 or 70 snap shots is often all I need to capture ONE successful shot of an awesome squirrel, mountain scape or a charming 200 year old barn that is leaning 30 degrees to the left. I admit I am not very good at using a camera and by no means a "photographer" but love clicking and snapping away. Sometimes I point the camera out the car window as Vic drives our trusty Volvo station wagon through the winding mountain roads. I happily snap away and have documented most of the ditch and mountains from Hope to Calgary.

STUDIO PAINTING and PLEIN AIR PAINTING
Studio painting and painting outdoors are two different experiences and each has its benefits. Traveling about and painting at random outdoor locations gives me a sense of freedom because my expectations for the painting is simply, I have no expectations but to enjoy the spontanity of it all. Outside in the wilds in my favourite neighbourhoods, or traveling in the interior or seaside beaches, I am totally wrapped up in the experience of capturing the essence of the scene and enjoying all the pleasures and the sights and sounds of nature. Plein air painting makes me feel totally refreshed, and connected to my inner outdoor self. Extremes do happen and if the sun is not blistering hot, the unexpected gusts of wind and rain create unwanted but note worthy distractions. Often my eyes are tearing up due to the wind, my paint tray has blown off its support and is upside down in the dirt or my hat has been carried off into the water. Not to forget Vic, who is quietly turning blue and wishing he was warmer and having lunch at the bistro with a cappuccino in hand.
Painting in the studio is warm and dry and I don't need sunscreen and I can reheat my cup of cold coffee 3 times if needed. Often I enjoy some background sounds like audio books, the cable channels 80's, classical, the Chill Lounge music, my Moby CD's or the summer sounds of our gardener's melodic leaf blower or edge trimmers.



THE BEST OF BOTH WORLDS

 My studio is a comfortable painting space where I can totally focus on the task and details at hand. I can work any hour of the day or night but now that I am listing off all the attributes of both, I feel there is something missing in my studio work environment. When I am in the wilds painting and observing all the beauty of nature, I am never alone. I know Vic is close by in the car staying warm and never too far away from my ear, pant legs or painting, are my good friends the bugs. These friendly winged or crawly, chewing creatures are happy to keep me company and are the becoming a very entertaining part of the outdoor painting experience for me.

THE BUG OLYMPICS

So for our next upcoming painting expedition into the great outdoors, I will be sure to bring my camera along and shoot the antics of my little bug friends and document their continuous and tireless efforts to totally immerse themselves in my paint and if I am lucky, I can capture one of their typical synchronized swimming events and dare devil diving into my painting.

I can expect all the usual spectacles to play out as the bug teams in yellow and black or purple jerseys flip and flop and dive and backstroke their way through the pools of water colour washes in my Olympic size paint tray. After much effort to stop the events, I resign myself to their constant persistence and I put down my brushes to enjoy their gold and silver medal round competitions. As the light on the my water view dims and the last bug has made purple footprints through the sunset sky of my painting, I anticipate the next stage of the planned festivities-their gala awards ceremony and lavish dinner celebrations. From my past experiences and delight, I, once again will be their guest of honour and their main course.

GOOD NEWS update Sept 6th

I have just heard through a very reliable source that there are laptop shade covers available for artists and photographers who like to work on their digital artworks outdoors. Many thanks to Francis for letting us know about these covers for laptops, Vic will enjoy working outdoors now.