"Ala Spit, Backside" Whidbey Island plein air painting by Robin Weiss

"Ala Spit, Backside"  7x12  oil   $550

 

The first couple days of the 2024 Whidbey Island Plein Air were socked in and overcast. That has its pros and cons as far as plein air painting goes. I kinda like it. No pressure to chase the sun shadows or set your easel out of the bright light. Local color can even be richer under certain conditions. You also get the benefit  of dramatic atmosphere.

I spent the first day of the competition at Ala Spit. A local state park near Deception Pass. There are classic Northwest beaches with lots of driftwood and surprisingly few tourists about. Just local fishermen and a few families digging clams. I completed three paintings there!  

"Gold Finch Field" Whidbey Island Plein Air painting by Robin Weiss

"Gold Finch Field" 6x8 oil   SOLD

 

We always look forward to the Whidbey Island Plein Air competition. It happens every year in August and is hosted by the Pacific Northwest Art School in Coupeville. They do a great job of organizing the competition and using the resources to offer grants, scholarships, classes and support for artists in the area. They are funded mostly by members and donations. If you are interested in helping you can support them HERE.

Gold Finch Field was my first warm up painting of the competition after registering and getting my panels stamped. Brooke Borcherding, fellow artist and painting buddy is under the tree in the background working on her first painting. 

"After Eight" plein air landscape painting by Robin Weiss

 

"After Eight"  6x12 plein air     SOLD

My recently purchased Windows Surface laptop had a melt down.....or at least it seemed like I just bought it.  Turns out it was 6 years old...but still, they don't last that long! The guy at Geek Squad said they have a 4or 5 year life span! 

Anyway I have not been posting for awhile waiting for Best Buy to get the new one ready. I bought a new ASUS laptop because it was on sale and they said it was a good one for photo editing. I'm getting used to it and windows 11 by posting on my blog. 

I've been painting a lot and have attended the Whidbey Island Plein Air competition in the interim. I will be posting those paintings soon.

One evening after watching the news I glanced outside and noticed the light was really nice. I packed up the gear and drove to a favorite painting spot across the Hood Canal bridge on the Olympic Peninsula. I had just enough time to capture this scene.

"Root Causes" plein air painting by Robin Weiss

"Root Causes"  12x9 oil on panel   $700

 

I made reservations at the Dosewallips campground back in February for the annual PAWA paint out. Of course I came down with covid a week before the campout but figured I may as well recover in the fresh air and sunshine so went anyway. I actually painted quite a bit between naps. This old exposed fir tree was a few yards down the trail from camp.

I enjoyed painting in the shade and quiet of the forest. It was a challenge to capture the feel of ancient growth and renewal.