Well, the promise of another "dry" run in preparation for the plein air paint out did not develop...the 30% that forecasters called for ...did.  So, a back-up plan was implemented!
I finished two paintings in studio today...the one on the left is "Buddy" my friend Carlo Oates' Golden Lab.  He joined us up on Beacon Heights several weeks ago...and stood guard while we "took a pull on the Chardonnay."  We did not see a single bear.  You can also see Buddy in a co-starring role with his owner under New Paintings on this web site.  

This one, Upper Creek Falls, is in Pisgah National Forest.  It is about 20 minutes drive from here and spectacular.  This particular scene had some incredibly colored boulders...the tops were a deep cobalt blue gray that were just damp enough to reflect the Carolina blue sky. The bottom of the rocks was almost rusty iron-colored and sank into what my friend and sometime hiking guide Barry Cook says is a swimming hole that kids have been coming to for decades (the tree to the left of the scene had a knotted rope attached, which I took the liberty to edit).  He stopped short of telling me that Daniel Boone swam here.  More to come from this hike where I only fell in one time...kept my Nikon dry...but got one leg wet up to my money clip!
Oh, and that plein air session is now scheduled for tomorrow, forecast permitting.

Retirement has opened new opportunities for me.  New artist friends, more time to paint, time to explore new locations...are just a few of the benefits I have found so far.
When people ask, "how are you liking retirement," i usually answer that I 'like it more than I thought I would.'
I tell them that one of my goals (and I actually wrote this one down early this year) is to paint more on location, plein air, or as Carl Judson calls it, Guerrilla  Painting.  This Saturday, I have committed to be part of a "paint-out" all day in Banner Elk, NC.  I knew that I couldn't just walk up Saturday morning...throw out my stuff and start painting.  So, I walked the Banner Elk Greenway looking for subjects.  I photographed them.  I came home and got my boxes, paints, tripod, umbrella...my Guerrilla stuff ready to go!  
Yesterday, I tried a dry run.  First stop, a barn in a stand of tall evergreen trees across an open field.  I did the set up...took me longer than I thought...and I started to paint.  after a few minutes...a looming cloud began to drip and spit...not good for watercolor.  A bug or two that I never really saw kept tickling my leg as if to say, "do you mind moving over there...this is my place."  Several elderly walkers strolled by, some with their leashed animals, some with their unleashed mates.  There were smiles, nods and "hello's" but no one stopped.  Good thing.  
While I had a few good moments, this was not one of my paintings...it looked like the painting by a young child who had just been handed a brush, some paint and water and told to paint something.  It has been a long time since I painted in plein air and the last time was oil.  But I did learn a few things from the day...pack lighter (I don't need all of that stuff...too many brushes, for instance)...keep it simple or simplify the subject matter (I only have a few hours on Saturday to try to do several pieces)...paint faster.
So, today, another rehearsal...if I get something I like, I'll share it here tomorrow.