Painting at Vanderbilt

What a great day! I spent today painting at the Vanderbilt, an estate and mansion on the Hudson River, with fabulous views both up and down river. I met with some artist friends from the Lower Hudson Valley Plein Air Painters, and together we enjoyed the view, the bleating of goats nearby, and the time outdoors. At midday it started raining and I continued to paint under the shelter of a towering maple tree. We've had so little rain that I happily welcome the sound and feel of it at this point.

I enjoyed the time with fellow artists and the inspiration of seeing how they painted the same view as I and hearing people's suggestions for each others' paintings-- always a learning experience. Rowan was with me and was delighted to meet so many friendly people, and he also met quite a few friendly dogs. And of course I loved the time spent painting beautiful scenery-- one of my favorite ways to spend a day. All in all, a very good day.

I was aiming for an atmospheric feel to my landscapes, and am happy with how they turned out. I may do a little touching up on a couple of them, but this is what I did while out today. One of the challenges of plein air painting is the way the light changes, sometimes in a matter of minutes dramatically altering the scene. When it started to rain upriver, all was muted and monochromatic in that direction while still bright and sunny downriver.