Lilac Gardens in Niagara Falls, Ontario

c. K Schifano

I am so fortunate to be able to get outdoors and spend a day in nature. Finding the right weather helps! A planned outing to the Niagara Parks in Ontario was postponed because of doom and gloom weather reports, but I chose to venture across the bridge anyway, the day seemed bright. It is close and I wanted to capture the lilacs in bloom. They were early this year and I was going to miss them if I waited.

Open fields by the expanse of the Canadian power project were subject to the announced winds, so I set up against the breeze, behind the car, easel on the ground with me on the inside of the car surrounded by pastels and materials. Within an hour I was gripping the top of the easel to steady it in gusty winds and watching tourists walk around sideways, head into the wind, clothing whipping around. It kept getting stronger while the scent of lilacs increased and the bushes rattled to their roots.

Working in pastel, all excess powder from my sticks was gone with the wind, mark making had a whole new meaning for me in the gales that started increasing. I always said I would rather paint in the rain than wind, but I love the plein air effect of wind in this painting. It still vibrates and blows on my page.

As I finished, fat raindrops started and I pulled the hatch shut. My drive home was erratic as the gale winds had toppled trees, broke large branches and sent all sorts of things into the roadway, heavy rain compounded the difficulty. I had spent the day out, captured it and made it home safely, another great paint adventure.

Windy Lilacs, 12x9, pastel, c. 2013