The FCPS was lucky again today with our weather. We had the first plein air paint-out day of the fall season. Our venue today was The Fountain of Youth in St. Augustine. The setting is a lovely one, right along the banks of the salt marshes. The day started out a bit cloudy and overcast, but the sun came out later, and there was a wonderful breeze blowing all day - just about perfect!
The grounds were lovely as well, and decorated with peacocks and peahens strutting around. Their plumage was so lovely. What a shame they wouldn't stop to pose for the artists.
In addition to the peafowl there were lots of wild birds making use of the salt marshes also, like this osprey and its kindred who circled above us most of the morning.
There were plenty of choices for setting up to paint though. Painting plein air can require a lot of equipment to be dragged around, so at least there were walkways and level ground to travel across to find that pefect spot.
We had a good turnout of artists, both new folks joining us and folks who have been with us right from the beginning. It's exciting to see new folks though, and see that we are continuing to grow.
As the morning ended many of us came together for lunch, and to share views of some of the paintings we did during the morning.
In addition to the painting he did this morning Richard Lundgren brought along the framed painting he did as a demo on painting water at our fall kick-off meeting on August 26. The painting is being auctioned via a silent auction, with proceeds to go into the FCPS treasury. More about this will be forthcoming, but bids must be in $10.00 increments and, as some folks bid on the painting during the paint-out, the current bid sits at $70.00.
This tree caught the eye of quite a few of us when we were walking around looking for inspiration for our painting, and at least three of us decided that this was what we wanted to paint! For one interpretation of the tree you can see here.
