I spent most of my day inside my cabin painting. I had a spot picked out to paint outside but the wind was not cooperating with me. It looks like the wind is supposed to die down overnight so hopefully I will spend the entire day outside tomorrow.
I am working on a painting of a group of six pelicans from a reference photo I took while hiking on the Eagle loop when I was here in May. I am struggling with it a little bit. I brought my acrylic paints up here instead of my oils because they are just so much more practical to travel with but it is very difficult to get the same kind of effects. Today I focused on the water which is the hard part with acrylic paint. I think at the end of the day I finally got my technique down. Tomorrow I am going to focus on the pelicans because I think those will go better and hopefully give me a little confidence boost! I will post some pics of my progress tomorrow.
I am hoping to turn in early tonight so I can get up early and go for a nice hike. Wednesday looks rainy and cloudy so I want to get out of the cabin while I can. Today involved a lot of sitting so a nice long hike sounds really good right now!
I did make friends with a little red squirrel. I put some birdseed on the railing for her and she is not scared of me at all. It has been nice to have the company. It was also great to be able to study her close up because later this week I will be working on a painting of a red squirrel and a reference photo is never going to tell you as much as seeing something in person.
The other interesting part of my day was getting a tour of the park and surrounding community from Amy at the park office. It was really interesting to get to hear about the history of the park and to get to drive around the lake a little bit. It is very beautiful up here! I wish I lived a little closer so this could become a regular weekend trip. There is a lot to do like hiking, kayaking, swimming, camping of course and there are even some restaurants nearby. It really is a pretty little part of the state. I’m so glad I had a reason to come see it!