Plein air oil painting Beavertail State Park
Beavertail State Park is just beautiful. My hardest decision once I get there is what I want to paint… because I want to paint it all. I painted this view over two Saturdays two weeks apart. The skies on the first Saturday had these beautiful clouds floating over the humid gray air, which I tried to capture first in the painting. On the second Saturday, the sky was clear blue and the water nearshore was almost tropical blue reflecting off the scattered sand – look at those gorgeous blues >>>
This sky!!!
Best of both atmospheres painting over two weekends
At the end of the first Saturday, this was my painting. My mom joined me to chat which was lovely! Paint and catch up with mom – double bonus!
Two weeks later I came back because I really wanted to finish the bay water onsite. The photos just don’t capture the variety of blues and purples in the transparent nearshore water.
While I was setting up, I couldn’t help but notice these gorgeous bottle green waves directly in front of me. Perfect reference material for a rainy day studio painting! I can’t wait to paint this!
All packed up! I have gone through a few plein air backpacks. I started by trying to repurpose some of my kids old school backpacks for my watercolor setup, but these were either too small or not enough back padding. Once I started painting with oils, I really needed a larger backpack with hip straps to keep the weight off my shoulders. After a few purchases and returns, I found the Osprey Mira – I LOVE this pack. While it only just fits my current supplies, that is fine as I really wanted the most compact form possible. The hip straps and weight adjustment mean I can hike wherever I want to go to paint. Enjoy painting!
Supplies:
Fredrix Pro Linen Panel 8×10
Daniel Smith Water Soluble Oils: French Ultramarine, Cyan Blue, Titanium White, Cadium Yellow Medium
Cobra Water Soluble Oils: Pthalo green, Burnt Umber, Yellow Ochre
Duo Cobalt Turquoise
Gamblin Solvent Free Gel