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I've been back into my painting for almost ten years and I've been doing a lot of reflecting and looking back at older works of my art.  In September 2021, I did a 30 day Strada painting challenge where I painted from life every day.  I was kind of shocked to see that I had painted almost 20 of those days en plein air at a pond behind my house lovingly named Willow Pond.  It's been a source of beauty, peace and inspiration for many many years.  For the Strada challenges, I usually painted more indoors from still life setups. So to be reminded that I made it outside to paint for 20 almost straight days was pretty amazing.  Below you can see those plein air studies, all of Willow Pond. 

Some were painted in sketchbooks, but mostly on panels with oil. 

Willow Pond, at that time, was lush and surrounded with trees that provided the most beautiful scenes of tree reflections.  It looks a lot different now due to some menacing beaver and I'll share more on that in another post.  

I am very proud of all these little studies and learned so much about trees, reflections and water.  I'm so glad that I keep my plein air studies.  They're always a source of inspiration and learning. 

It was hard to select  but I chose my top  paintings from that month long challenge.  Below is a water reflection scene that had glowing sunlight and the trees seemed to just bubble and boil out of the water.  You couldn't tell which was more real...the reflection or the actual trees.  I did make some alternations to this back in the studio and was happy that I did.  

This little gem below is so special to me. I really came into my Tonalist love combined with Impressionism and this study just came together so easily.  Big shapes, subtle value and edge changes, details in the water and foreground grasses that I love to paint.  

This study was of the bushy Willows and had a fantastic, tonal underpainting that I left some showing through.  By leaving pure color, it makes a reflection shine against water that looks white(ish).  Some scratchy marks with my palette knife and trusty wood skewer finished it off.  

This study of the Willows was from a marshy area at the back of the pond and was a complete study of color and shapes.  A much more Impressionistic approach with more visible brushstrokes and more saturated color used than normal. This one was totally immersive and I can still remember painting it.  

Once I began looking back at all of my Willow Pond studies and social media posts, I decided that Willow Pond would be a great subject for my next series.  I'm almost finished up with my Creekside series so this inspiration hit at just the right time. I'll be sharing more soon on how Willow Pond looked now and then, my plans moving forward and artists that are inspiring me with this new series. So stay tuned and thank you for visiting my blog.  

It happened on July 18, 2023...about 6 months after my mom died.  The grief of losing her had hit me so hard that I thought I would surely never paint again.  But time has a way of gently healing and I found myself out in a family meadow, gazing at a scene I drive by all the time when going on country rides in my buggy (my Gator).  I dearly love a scene that has dark shadows of a tree row with the tree trucks illuminated.  It's always the tree trunks in shadow that get me. 

 I have a video of this scene on this day so I know the breeze was blowing and the birds were singing and it was about 8:30 in the morning. The notes on my sketch (shown below) tell me it was 75 degrees and overcast, probably an unusually cool morning for the middle of July in Kansas. I scribbled "Bob White quail" so I know one was calling out, which I adore.  I made a special color note on my sketch of the yellow wildflower that I knew I wanted to include.  

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Then I started my painting on a 5" x 7" wood panel.  I remember that this one just felt right.  I loved the scene, I loved my sketch and my brushes were just dancing as I did my underpainting.  

I remember thinking to just keep things loose and that the best I would get would be some good color notes.  

But as I continued to work, the painting was coming to life.  The darks and the lights were playing against each other very well.  My brushstrokes were bold but subtle marks that went from warm to cool greens.  I was able to pull up some paint that let the tree trunks come to life.  I left the edges untouched so that the process of this painting could be seen.  

And with some final marks for the branches, I had said all I wanted to say.  The painting was loose and sketchy but contained all the information it needed to read well.  

Then I signed it by scratching my "MWooderson" with my trusty skewer.  

I remember that this one felt good.  I didnt' stress and think "oh this is terrible".  I didn't have back paint from tensing up while painting.  I actually loved it which is rare for a plein air piece.  

That little, yellow wildflower. I even included it in the painting as a last minute touch.  

I used my worn chip brush to add in the tall, dried grasses and they lit up again the dark shadows of the tree line.  Wispy branches that I thought might be hokey really finished the scene.  There are a 4-5 distinct green, square brush marks placed on the dark shadow (far left) that are enough to say "foliage". A few blended brushstrokes above the trees soften the sky line.  

And just like that I had painted what would become my favorite plein air piece to this day.  I carry this thing around like a security blanket, I tell ya.  All felt right in my parting world that July day.  Maybe it was just time to get back to painting...or maybe Mama gave me a gift of a good one...or maybe both.  

I hope I always remember this day, painting out in the green, grassy meadow.  

And I hope I have many more painting days like this....and that by sharing my stories, they'll live on for maybe my girls or my grandkids...and they'll maybe take my little painting some day and go sit in the same spot I did while painting this.  Wouldn't that be wonderful?