Just back from my first plein air paint-out, at Blithewood Gardens on the Bard College campus in Annandale-on-Hudson, NY. The event was put on by the Red Hook Community Arts Network as part of the Red Hook Bicentennial celebrations. We were blessed with glorious sunshine, crisp cast shadows, and shady trees and picnic benches. The thought of painting an Italianate formal garden scared me -- there's so much going on that it's tempting to try to paint every leaf and blossom. I settled on the central structure as my focal point, and used artistic license to omit the pergola next to it. While I think my painting could be a bit looser and more spontaneous, I'm fairly happy with how it turned out, especially given the unfamiliar subject and the constraints of the environment.

Watercolor on Arches cold-pressed paper, 8"x8" unframed. Available (framed, square black wood with white mat) through the Red Hook Community Arts Network Gallery's upcoming exhibition, "Gardens and Landscapes of the Hudson Valley," June 15-July 15, 2012. Info at rhcan.com