Wekiva Plein Air Event

The Wekiva Plein Air Paint Out Event was a huge success and great fun. Once again, I bunked with my gal pals Linda Blondheim and Elisabeth Ferber. Painted by day and played by night. Thanks to Peter Carolyn for the roaring bonfire and smores the last night..perfect ending for a perfect week. Met some super new-to-this-event painters, Renee Lammers, Sara Winters, Thom Buttner and Mikel Wintermantel to name a few. Event Guru Leslie Long rounded up an impressive group of supporters that donated time, money and/or items to the Paint Out to help ensure the success of this event. The artists were well fed and taken care of in exchange for their week long struggle with the wind, rain and cold to produce an outstanding exhibition of the finest plein air paintings to be found in the state, if not the nation.

Sunsets on Lake Prevatt were breathtaking. Not only because of the beautiful sky colors but because of the gale force winds coming off the lake. Standing at the edge of the water painting was definitely a challenge as my umbrella went flying and my painting hand froze. Us Florida natives always forget our gloves. I need to take a few lessons from Renee who paints in the snow in Maine.

The canoe launch offered a lovely view of the Wekiva River. As I painted I marveled at the number of people setting out for a day on the water even though rain threatened and the wind blew. As the boaters returned they all testified to the beauty of the river and the wonder at all the wildlife from turtles and aligators to herons and egrets. A park ranger watched me paint for a bit and told me the Blue Heron I saw across the river and was about to put in my painting is a resident at the river named Henry.

All but one of my paintings this year were done at Lake Prevatt. The ever changing weather brought a new look to the lake each day. Some mornings dawned misty and grey, afternoons were bright and windy, evenings were...well ... different from the one before. Plein air painting is all about the light...or lack there of.

Yes, this paint out was a challenge, but one I will gladly repeat next year!