Plein Air Paintout
Last monday was a spectacularly bright day to paint en plein air. I painted at Thunder Hole in the morning on the Park Loop Road of Acadia National Park. I have a lifetime park pass now and I have committed myself to a goal of painting in the park at least once a week. Months ago I came across 50 small images I found on one of my DVD's of my second residency at the Schoodic Educational Center in Acadia Nation Park. I came to the conclusion that I needed to revisit these places and do much larger versions, spending a greater amount of time. So I have painted 4 large watercolors so far that have the plein air feel of a painted sketch.
What I loved most about this time of year is that there aren't crowds of people at these popular park locations. It was a bright Spring day and I was thankfully, able to experience Thunder Hole completely on my own. There were times when there was no one there at all and other times that I became somewhat of a tourist attraction. But I didn't mind, all were surprised to see me there, set up on the walkway, as they descended down to get a better look at the exciting phenomenon. Most gave kind comments about my work and I thanked them.
I painted at low tide and by the time high tide occurred at 2:00 PM the wave action was reduced to a gurgling sound. I chose a high horizon line with very little sky to exaggerate the viewing angle down into the ravine where the grotto is located. I also chose to paint many of the incoming waves that gave the sea a busy movement, but overall, It was a visually calm day to do a challenging painted sketch and Thunder Hole was silent.
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