Ravine Gardens

For two years the First Coast Pastel Society has been lucky on our scheduled paint-out days. But today the weather odds caught up with us. Although temperatures had warmed up some since earlier in the week it was still raw and cool and rainy today.

Which left us all wondering about the best place to set up and paint, as we took shelter under a picnic pavilion.

Some of us did stroll around the grounds, and took photos for possible reference images.

In the end most of us decided to set up in the picnic pavilion where we had a sturdy roof, and were able to look out over the misty landscape.

And despite the weather we had twelve hardy souls who showed up to paint with us today.

And the pavilion was large enough to give us multiple different vantage points for our paintings.

As one participant said, "At least we don't have to worry about constantly shifting light and shadows." :-)

Because of the weather there were few other folks in the park, and we were able to spread out and take over whole picnic tables for ourselves.

Or one could stand right at the very edge of the covered roof to get a more detailed look at the outdoor views.

And here are a few quick looks at some of the works done, in varying stages of completion.

The gray day didn't prevent us, as artists, from using a richer color palette.

But even the subdued hues of the day could make amazing art.

Man-made objects could add a splash of colors also.

As could some of the lush greens.

Sadly the azaleas had not bloomed very much, so we didn't see the park in all its glory. But it was still a great visit. And two of our members even ventured further into the park to take shelter under a gazebo and paint from there.

Next month we meet in Ponte Vedra on March 1. This will be an amazing meeting so stay tuned here for details about the meeting, and important information about our upcoming juried member show whose entries are due April 1.

One important thing to keep in mind: Our spring member show will be juried via JPG IMAGES ON CD. Stay tuned.