Sedona - Day Three

The second full day of painting arrived overcast and with a few sprinkles coming down. To the south, the threat of rain looked less, so I headed for Red Rock State Park. Still overcast, but at least it wasn't raining -- yet! I set up my easel with a view of a rich, red rock wall with a line of yellow cottonwoods below it. What's even harder than painting these red rocks in sunshine is painting them on an overcast day. The colour is even richer, and it is tough to render without making it look gaudy. I think this one turned out pretty well, though.

After a lunch at Bella Terra (another event sponsor) with painters of the caliber of William Scott Jennings, OPAM, I headed out to do my second painting of the day. Hurricane Paul, a Pacific bluster heading up through the Southwest, was supposed to be blowing through later -- and sure enough, just after I set up my gear below the Coffeepot formation near Soldier's Pass, a big cloud rumbled up. I knew my time was very limited on this one, so I let my instinct fly. Not bad!

It was interesting to hear what people had to say at lunch. On Sunday, at our orientation, everyone was in high spirits and rarin' to go. On Tuesday, however, people were starting to look a little tired, and some were just downright unhappy with what they had done so far. PAPA member Raleigh Kinney said that the first two days are always the worst. I'm still full of energy and happy with what I'm doing. Three more days!