Plein Air and other adventures with nature

Today, two Lizzes, Colleen and Anthony worked together on plein air at the park.  Perfect day, little cloudy, mild, and the park was buzzing with activity as well as ours.

Here we're setting up and working at various paintings and drawings in the upper part of the park near the pavilion.  

I made four small watercolors which will probably become cards or something to send or give, great fun to work in small, unambitious proportions.


Then a couple of us went down to the towpath, and in between encountering small fisherfolk 

and larger kayakers, accomplished some good work. 

I did a few ten second drawings of people in action, seemed like a good opportunity, not lasting artworks, just getting eye in and skill up. 

On the way home, I made a stop at the bank, and found this wonderful animal, which belongs in an art blog. 

If my researches are correct, she's an Imperial moth, about five-inch wingspan.  She had obligingly settled to rest on a bank window, so I was able to get pix of the underside from inside the lobby, as well as the top.  You can see where her wings are overlapping, as well as the underside spotted pattern. She stayed for ages, long enough for several people to admire, take pix, and generally argue about what she was.

Then home to find the squirrel had set up this handy feeding station for himself.  I wonder if this was a hint to me to replace the pine cone, which they love and scatter all over my patio for me to sweep, with a nice ear of fresh corn.  Dream on.

But do be sure, if you're local and interested, to come join us Monday mornings at 10 at Turning Basin Park.  Great start to your week.