I just finished this Duck Patrol watercolor painting, a 9″w x 12h” on 140lb wc paper.
I started on location at the Coeur d’Alene Lakeshore in northern Idaho. Sitting in an area named Tubbs Hill that is just south of the North Idaho College campus. I was painting the well known scene when a duck kept coming over to me and checking me out. After multiple photographs I did a quick water closeup with two versions of the duck laid out in it. I finished it in the studio using the photographic references I had.
You can see more of the process for this one if you look at this previous post.
I have found that painting while outdoors is a real treat for me. It can sometimes be more difficult if there are weather conditions that get out of hand but still the bright colors are much more alive. I find that more and more of my artist time is spent painting and drawing en plein air because I am getting more comfortable setting up outside.
You Are Not Alone
If you ever feel like doing this yourself, you are always welcome to join us. There are many like-minded artists at painting meetups by the Inland Northwest Outdoor Art Group on Facebook.
We are all going when we can and staying as long as we want. The main thing is that you can meet other artists who like to paint outside and make friends so that possibly you will be able to not have to go to strange new places all alone. Whenever I have joined this group it has turned out to be a really enjoyable outing and I get to learn something really cool from someone in the group each time. Some of my best friends are artist’s!
