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Saturday, October 24, 2009

Sedona Plein Air Festival - Day 1, Continued

Another sunny, warm day in Sedona - just perfect for our first day of painting. After meeting the other 29 artists, we all headed out to Main Street to paint for the public. The Main Street businesses are a major supporter for the Sedona Plein Air Festival, so our first event was scheduled within a three- or four-block area of Uptown from 2:30 to 5.

The sun was intense, so four of us - Raleigh Kinney, David Haskell, Sara Lindy Poly and myself - sought shade. We found a nearly empty parking lot on the shaded side of the three-story Best Western. And it was a parking lot with a view! Life was good. We set up at the edge of the pavement by the lawn.



As I said, Life was good. But then the automatic sprinkler system went off. You'd think they'd have an alarm bell to give us a 10-second warning. Even though we were set up on pavement, we were just close enough to get sprayed.

I usually don't like to put manicured lawns and non-native trees in my paintings, but I did here. The scene I chose needed a vertical element, and the cypresses were perfect. The lawn added an element of intense color. I was pretty pleased with this first painting, especially considering that I was not just painting but also talking with visitors and moving my gear now and then to avoid the lawn sprinklers! (And can you see the crescent moon in the painting?)

"Moon over Sedona"
9x12, oil