Sonoma Plein Air 2010 – Day 1

Just got home from a week of painting in the beautiful Sonoma County! Boy am I wiped out. I want to do a recap of the entire Sonoma Plein Air Festival if only to keep a record of this wonderful event, but I'm not sure if I can remember everything. I painted my butt off for an entire week, and it's kind of a blur as to when I did what. I didn't take notes of the days' happenings as I typically do, because it's been a while since I did one of these events and I was out of sorts.

But let me start at the beginning and I will retell the week's goings on as best I can.

So Day 1. I didn't even start packing till Monday morning. I had been busy all weekend taking care of this and that, and I got to bed really late, too. By the time I arrived in Sonoma, it was late morning. Good thing I only live an hour and a half away! The skies were heavy and it looked like it was going to start raining any minute, and sure enough, as I was getting my panels stamped, it started coming down. I wasn't planning on busting my tail on the first day - it takes a while for me to get into the plein air groove – so it may as well rain. I saw some old friends at check-in, got myself a hot cup o' joe, and chit chatted, while waiting for the rain to let up.

It didn't look like it was going to clear up anytime soon, so I went and had lunch with Paul Kratter, heckled Rob Sandidge (who was braving the rain and painting across the street from where Paul and I were eating lunch) and then went to meet my host for the week. Hostess, actually. Jane welcomed me into her home, and made me feel absolutely comfortable. The better plein air events really take care of the artists, and providing housing for the duration of the event is one of the things that really makes a difference for the participating artists. Sonoma is, in the opinion of many, one of the best events of its kind.

Anyway, due to a profound lack of sleep, and the fact that I didn't want to go out in the rain to paint meant that there was only one thing to do that afternoon; nap. What a luxury that is for me!

The Five Minute Show, 9 x 12 inches, oil on linen sold

I woke up a few hours later, and it looked like the sky was a bit brighter toward the South, so I sallied forth toward Carneros. I knew there were marshes over there, and I've done a fair number of marsh paintings since last fall, so it was well within my comfort zone. No point in rushing into something really challenging and setting myself up for failure on the very first day!

I found a good spot, though it was a bit windy and the rain hadn't completely stopped. My SUV's hatch provided some cover and I was able to do this painting. I placed my bets on the sun showing its face toward the evening and lighting up the clouds. It did happen, for about five minutes (hence the title). I had to push the color a bit to make it work for my painting.

Not a bad start to a week of nothing but painting en plein air~

The evening was spent socializing with other artists at the reception, catching up with old friends and meeting new ones. Some of us then went to this taco joint and had ourselves a good time. Things were looking promising, indeed.