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Monday, October 1, 2012

Acadia National Park & Mount Desert Island Workshop

Manset


As we make our way slowly west, we have several stops along the way for workshops.  Our first is the quaint fishing village of Bernard, Maine.  It's on the "quiet side" of Mount Desert Island, which is home to Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park.  I'm teaching a plein air workshop for the Acadia Workshop Center.  This is, I believe, my seventh time teaching here.

Bass Harbor Light

October is one of my favorite month; the fall colors can be spectacular.  This year, the color is just beginning, but good color isn't too hard to find.  We've also had some heavy rain the last two days, but this morning, the first day of the workshop, the rain began to abate.  We were actually able to get out and paint the whole day.  I did my demonstration in spitting rain. (And thank you, brave students, for enduring the rain!) After that, the rain moved off, and the students were able to enjoy a rain-free day.  I think we're going to have a good week.  Here are a few photos from the day.


Rainy Day Palette

My Marsh Demo


Update:  Readers have asked what paintbox I am using on this trip.  Ordinarily, I would use my Guerrilla Painter 9x12 box on a tripod, but for travelling by car across the continent and teaching workshops, I take my French easel and my Artwork Essentials Easyl Classic.  I use this setup because, in addition to painting, I need to illustrate on a large sketchpad in the classroom.  I can't use my Guerrilla box for that.  So, I use the French easel in the classroom to hold my sketchpad, and then I take it into the field.  Although the Easyl box is actually a full paintbox, I use it as a palette.  I don't use the palette that comes with the French easel - it's too hard to keep myself clean!