“View from the River Bridge” is an oil on canvas panel measuring 9″x12″. I started this painting several weeks ago as a lesson in the Wednesday night art class. We did the landscape work with the fields, mountain and river. Then when I brought it home and looked at it for awhile I decided that it needed something more. The photo I used was one I snapped while driving along. (See the photo by clicking this link. https://lifeofadailypainter.com/2009/06/30/serendipity/ )
So I added the bridge to the painting. This is one that will be entered in the upcoming River Show at the Blue Ridge Arts Council in Front Royal.
There is a group of Plein Air painters that have been meeting for several years around the Front Royal area on Thursday mornings to try to capture the beautiful scenes where we live. The Shenandoah Plein Air Painters met at Philip Carter Winery yesterday morning for our painting session. And boy, was it ever overcast. 
This is my reference photo for the painting. One thing I didn’t have to worry about that is often a problem for plein air painters was the changing light. The light was a steady dull grey…no sun to be seen anywhere. 
But I got a great start on this little painting despite the weather. And I was really enjoying the solitude out at the winery early in the morning and then….
So I took another quick photo of the painting and the scene….
And then I finished it up at home. I love these quick sketches of the scenes around the valley…even if the weather is iffy!
Lucky me! I got a new easel for my birthday last week so I did a practice run with it this weekend out at the cabin and painted the Red Chair that I posted about a few days ago. 
And here is the finished sketch. It is an oil on canvas panel measuring 8″x10″ and is 
When you paint for a living you often spend a lot of time doing things other than painting. Marketing takes up a great deal of time – working on the blog and website can take hours of time that I would rather spend painting but that’s part of the deal. 
They were a very nice group of girls, and along with their chaperones, they were curious about how I got to this point in my business. It’s always fun to speak to a group of people who have the same interests. Good luck girls with your “business badge”. And come see us again at Delilah’s.
The Studio 