Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Niagara Frontier Plein Air Painters at Niagara Falls

Here is a peek at an oil painting that is drying right now...a morning that started with a rainstorm turned wonderful by a 9am start for the NFPAP paintout last week. The hardy painters who arrived at the Falls gathered at the top of Terrapin Point to capture the Horseshoe Falls, while I chose a spot midway between the staircases. I thought I would be safe from too many tourists; boy was I wrong! I actually welcome an occasional interruption as it gives my eyes a break and allows a little mind shift from paint. However, entire busloads of visitors gathered round my easel---and then started asking me to turn and pose for them. My photograph is traveling around the world on many tiny memory cards as I write.

I'm thrilled with how this piece of Niagara turned out, it's hard to see well with the light glare on oil, but it is mounted on my portable french easel which is folded closed. The big plastic bag holds odds & ends, camera, lunch, canvases and such. At the Falls a plastic bag is mandatory-I never know when the wind will shift and drench everything with mist.

photo by Joan Shaw