First Brush of Spring!

Spring Beauties, 8x10, oil on panel
See www.marioncorbinmayer.com for purchase information

Last weekend my husband Rob (aka "el Patron") and I drove to New Harmony, IN, to attend "The First Brush of Spring" - a plein air painting competition sponsored by the Hoosier Salon and the Indiana Plein Air Painters Assoc. (IPAPA).  It was a really fun event, even though the weather did not cooperate.  It was cold!  We rented a golf cart for one day and froze as we explored New Harmony.  The artists who braved the weather to paint looked far colder though.

 I only painted one day and kept very close to our B&B.  In fact I set up on the porch and painted the pansies.  Coco, one of the resident cats posed very briefly, so I utilized photo reference to add her to the painting.  She just wouldn't hold still!

First pass on ms Coco the cat

Transparent underpainting

 New Harmony is a very picturesque town on the Wabash River in the southwest corner of Indiana. Originally started as an "intentional community" it continues in spite of economic ups & downs as a destination for artists, musicians and writers.  It has attracted many baby boomers as a retirement community as well. The town really welcomed the invasion of artists for the weekend.  Since the weather was iffy people were painting in restaurants,  book  stores & wine bars.  The local ice cream parlor featured wonderful handmade flavors.  (http://newharmony.org/)

We stayed at Cooks on Brewery (http://cooksonbrewery.com/) and had a fabulous time.  Cooks has three rooms to offer and we lucked into the first floor accessible room. This was great since my knee had gone “wonky.”  It also featured a huge closet perfect for my stash of painting supplies.  The bed was comfy, the linens smooth and the shared living areas cozy. Each morning the breakfast was amazing and provided a terrific start to each day. Jonathan and David were excellent hosts.  We enjoyed the company of the resident cats as well but no cat hair. Wonder how they manage that?  Sure doesn't work that way at my house…

Cooks on Brewery B and B

It was fun to hang out with so many talented artists for the weekend. There was a fabulous art sale Saturday morning.  So many great little paintings for sale by many of the artists who attended the event! I did not enter the competition, but maybe next year. I was too busy exploring New Harmony and soaking in the art energy...

We plan to return next April.