Yesterday I was the guest speaker at the Strasburg Rotary Club in Strasburg, Virginia. What a nice group of folks!
They made me feel very welcome as I told them what it is like to be a daily painter. I also did a quick demonstration for them. The photo here shows my set up with reference photo for the painting.
I’ll put the finishing touches on it and post the finished product for you in the next few days.
Thanks again to the Strasburg Rotarians for allowing me to discuss my “Life as a Daily Painter” with you.
And yes, I did paint while I was at the Paint-out. There were so many wonderful feature to photograph that I did take some time to walk around the yard and by the river and creek and get some reference photos for my file. 
This is the start of the painting, the part that I got done that morning at the Paint-out. The painting shown in the photo is stored in the canvas carrier of the easel. I am waiting for the oil paint to dry a little more so I can go in and put some of the details in the tree trunk. As soon as it is done I’ll post the results.
This is the little creek that feeds into the river (See Monday’s postings) at Robin’s house. There was so much beauty – everywhere you looked, especially along this little creek.
And terrific features to paint like this little bridge that leads to the main house. 
As I walked along the river and the creek to take these photos, I saw tons and tons of smooth river rocks. But I was fascinated by the way the creek had etched out this slate and made it into long flat pieces. And the moss growing on it was just a bonus.
Robin’s beautiful home near Romney was the site of the Paint-out on Saturday. How wonderful that she shared her wonderful location with us. 
There was several buildings on the property that are unique. I love the boards on this one. 
And lovely settings like this that would make a great painting.
And this one too! Where to start???!!!! That is always the problem when you go to a new location that is rich with subject matter. It’s hard to know what to paint first. That is why digital cameras have been such a useful tool for painters. All those pictures…so little time to paint.
As I have mentioned several times in the last few weeks, the Blue Ridge Arts Council’s current show hanging in the gallery at 305 East Main Street is “A River Runs Through It”, all about the Shenandoah River. We are so lucky to have such a beautiful feature in our town.
Up on Twin Mountain in West Virginia yesterday we walked along the orchard road. Along with the apple trees there is a long row of plum trees.
The plums are dark purple but they show up blue on the trees. Really beautiful! And the trees are loaded. 
Aren’t they great??? Just waiting to be ready to make into jelly!
“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. 
The Studio 