Monday, September 6, 2010

"Backside of Malibu Moo"

It was finally Saturday morning..... and couldn't  believe that a whole week had passed.  The three of us arrived at Fish Creek to prepare for the final Dockside Quick Paint event.  We arrived early, around 7:00 am and picked out our places to paint.  It was raining and chilly... but in plein air.... you paint.... rain or shine!  I set up my easel, along with my umbrella, but still got soaked.

After setting up our gear...we went to the expresso bar for coffee, and to get out of the rain.  Around 9:00 am, we had to take our canvas to get the official Door County Plein Air Festival stamp.  They delayed the start time this year due to the rain. Finally, with us all at our easels.... the bullhorn sounded.... and two hours raced by before the bullhorn sounded to STOP!  We took our paintings to get them stamped again.... All of the Dockside paintings were to be exhibited at the Peninsula School of Arts final reception that evening.  We rushed home to shower and prepare for the reception.  When we returned to the reception.... I was delighted to see that my painting had sold.  This is a photo of the scene I painted....  I failed to get a photo so I applied a filter to the picture... so you can see what it looked like when I squinted.  Malibu Moo is one of the local favorite places to purchase ice cream delights.  It is always packed... and faces the harbor.

We had a wonderful week, and look forward to next year's event.... God willing!!!

Saturday, September 4, 2010

"Maple Street Cottage" - Fish Creek

We retuned again to Fish Creek Friday morning, to pick out what we wanted to paint for Saturday morning's Quick Paint.  I found what I wanted to paint, and made a few sketches.  After lunch I painted this delightful cottage just a few houses away from the bed and breakfast that I painted yesterday.  I loved the way the house peaked out between the trees.... with light falling on the roof, and a few areas on the trees and grass in front of the picket fence.

We have had a wonderful time.  Saturday will mark the end of the Plein Air festival.  We will need to get into town early to have our canvas stamped....will all be ready to paint by 9:00 am.... signaled by a blast of the bullhorn.... and two hours later..... the bullhorn will signal the end of the Quick Paint.  We will need to get our painting stamped again.... and get it framed.  It is a very exciting time.

Friday, September 3, 2010

"Lundenberg Guest House" in Fish Creek


We stayed in Fish Creek for the afternoon.... investigating little side streets that branched off of the main harbor area.

I found an adorable little bed and breakfast inn... called Lundenberg Guest House ..... located at the corner of Maple and Cedar Street. I loved the big wrap-around porch... it seemed to say... come on up and enjoy a chilled glass of Lemonade.

It was just about high noon... you can tell by the bright sunlight on top of the roof, another pretty little lady!

It was interesting painting the white clapboards, and using various violets and blues to suggest shade.

Thursday, September 2, 2010

"Noble House"


We started the morning in Fish Creek.

I love this house and all of it's charm... and have painted it before. It is called The "Alexander Nobel House". Alexander Noble was one of Fish Creek's founding fathers. It was built in 1875, when Fish Creek was a thriving fishing and shipping village, complete with dirt streets, and horse-drawn wagons.

I spent the morning painting very comfortable... under the shade of a huge oak tree.

The landscaping in front of the porch area was covered in white hydrangeas. Beautiful morning!

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

"Waiting For The Rain to Stop"


Due to rain Wednesday evening....we decided to eat in.... and then paint. After dinner we all set up our easels and painted from our covered screened-in porch in our cabin in Baileys Harbor.

Our cabin was called "Sunflower".... and it had every kind of sunflower in it that you could imagine.... pillows, bed coverings, wall hangings, salt and pepper shakers.... etc. It was too funny and cute! Apparently the manager loves to go garage shopping.... and collects all of the sunflower themes she can find... and adds it to the growing collection found in Sunflower.

It was beginning to get dark and rainy, and I tried to capture the essence of dampness and rain of the evening in this little study.

The cabin is right across from Sunflower... right on the edge of the water. It is a lovely authentic old log cabin that has been modernized and updated .... called Kangaroo Kastle, complete with a "cadmium red" deck! In the driveway that circles the cabins.... there is a beautifully landscaped flower garden. The local flower gardens in Door are beautiful. You will find little pallets of color tucked in everywhere. Hollyhocks as tall as a man.... hydrangeas.... cosmos... etc... a joy to behold

I hope you enjoy little snip-its of my trip to Door County. This is the resort that we always stay... and if you are in the area I highly recommend it. It is deep within a wooded area... opening right onto the lake. Here is a quick link so you can see the pictures of the cabins at Sunset Shores Resort. Usually we stay in Lakeside cabin... but it was leased out that week.