Our artist-in-residence, Bonnie Griffith (right), and president of the Idaho Plein Air Painters, Nadine Kranz (in photo below), joined Daniel and I painting the Fall River, which originates in Yellowstone National Park. Local photographer, Daina Guild, braved the chilly air while Daniel, Bonnie, Nadine and I painted from the cozy warmth of the bus. 
   Snow was piled high on the rocky river edges.  Deep blue waters contrasted by the springtime oranges of the Willows made for a beautiful combination.  As usual, the lighting would change drastically, suddenly popping the orange Willows or deepening the blue waters.  You had to make a plan for colors and shadows and stick to it or you'd be chasing the light all morning.  Little chunks of ice were floating down the river and clinging to the riverbanks.  Everyone was painting in oils today with Daniel giving me a quick follow-along painting lesson to help me increase my speed. 

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April Rock Show

Our field trip took us to Idaho Falls this week.  Although the morning was filled with us attending the Gem and mineral show our afternoon was spent painting.  The Idaho Falls, falls, cascade over dark basalt boulders right through the middle of town.  We set up on the West side of the falls with the sun just over our right shoulder.  Both Kara and I painted in oil on 8X 10 boards.

It is one of the first really nice days this spring and the green belt is teeming with people taking advantage of the river side walk.  Although it is a little distracting, I am always happy to talk to anyone who walks up and asks questions. The time spent painting was about equal to the time spent visiting and I feel that creating a little excitement for plien air painting is well worth the time.

Over all I am happy with our paintings.  It is a difficult to paint falls which need the highlights for the stone and the white water but also needs  the contrast of dark water and black stones. I feel Kara’s success was creating a lichen texture on her rocks, and my strength in this painting was creating a sense of motion in the falls.

Early spring in Idaho makes for cold plien air adventures, but since we acquired the bus, we have added a little luxury to our field trips.  We’ve used it as a wind block, a shelter and a place to warm up our hands.  The weather was overcast and cold on March 28 with a projection of snow flurries.  Sounds like an adventure.

Our destination for this trip is one of those quirky areas that carries many names.  Growing up I always called it Hog Holler, but many locals also refer to it as Monkey Rock, Cross Cut, Hog Hollow, or just the Hollow.  I guess it has so many names because so much is packed into such a small area.

We arrived at the Hollow and I drove slowly along the shoulder of the road as we looked for a scenic view, and safe place to park the bus. We were looking at the way the cottonwoods and willows lined the bench of the Hollow, and how the creeks meander all along the bottoms. There was nice contrast of colors, the red stems of willows that have not budded, and the spring grasses which were just starting to green. However, this unusual behavior of driving slow and on the side of the road made it look like we were in distress  and it attracted the attention of one of our neighbors, and local celebrity musician, Colt Angell and his friend Cody Wayne.

So, Colt came out to see if we needed any help or assistance. He was delighted to hear that we were just looking for a good place to paint, and offered that we come up to the Dirty Shame Ranch where his property is all along the Hollow.  We followed him through the gate, and up past the barn into the pasture where the cattle were tending their newborn calves, and Colt stores his farming equipment.   This was a subject matter jackpot!

Kara and Daina went for a walk-about with Colt and Cody and I started my sketch of an old Case tractor.  I enjoy the beauty of the Hollow and doing landscapes, but I am a sucker for old farm equipment.  When everyone returned, Colt and Cody had brought their guitars and asked if they could sit out the storm playing for us. We were all set up and painting from the bus, when the snow flurries started.  The thermos had hot coffee, we had good music to listen to, and the paintings were going great. This is one of the reasons I love plein air painting so much. I never know exactly what to expect. 

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Teton Flour Mill

Kara and I were driving to work and Kara noticed these patches of purple and pink scattered all over the neighbor’s pasture.  She said “This is where we need to paint”. There is a short time in the spring when the grass hasn’t grown tall and the common mallow is blooming.  This creates a beautiful combination of colors and with the Teton flour mill as a back drop I had to agree.  “This is where we need to paint.”

We set up our easels next to the fence line where the road access meets the gate.  Our presence stimulated the cow’s curiosity and they meandered over to say “hi”. Our neighbor raises Charolais cattle and they are big white, and gentile.  Most of the cows had new born calves at their side and it made for an entertaining morning just watching the livestock. 

Our biggest challenge was painting facing the sun.  Although the sun was high, it shadowed and back lit much of our background making a silhouette. Kara also had trouble creating the illusion of height along the canal bank.  In our hurry to paint, I also feel we didn’t spend enough time on composition.  Kara wanted to capture the pasture, and the colors so much that her background ended up a little top heavy. I feel that my composition needs better lead in lines, and perhaps I needed a little more time on my background as well. I want to go back just to paint one of those brown eyed calves with the long eye lashes.