Quick Draw and Quick Paints are usually limited to two hours. You can choose your subject, set up your easel, and do a thumbnail before the start. The last 20 minutes involves framing and bringing your easel to the judging area. I set three alarms on my phone, halfway, 20 mins to end time, end time. Which will gives me time for 2 coats of spray varnish.
Before arriving I bring a couple hardboard panels with watercolor mounted on them. The thumbnail is most important to me because it sets my focus and I know what I am trying to emphasize in the painting, composition, shadows. I love this little shotgun house. In past years the ivy was not green and looked too brown overall. This year as soon as I saw it, with that red No Trespassing sign on the front door, I knew it was my choice. To me plein air painting is trying to capture the mood of a scene, not get crazy with details. Easier said than done! Hopefully at the end of the day it resonates with a patron. Neat thing about Plein Air Easton is that the public can watch you paint and purchase right off the easel and you can still submit to judging.
Watercolor is 11×14 mounted on hardboard and spray varnished.
©Yvonne Mucci, all rights reserved.
Yvonne Pecor Mucci 