"Peaceful Backwater"

My last plein air expedition to La Conner went great. The weather finally cooperated, and we had a perfect condition, perfect spot and fantastic company. My students are talented, dedicated and courages people. They followed me and painted with me shine or rain. They all became close friends, so I'm a grateful, proud and happy educator :)
Here is one of 3 pieces I painted there.

"Peaceful Backwater" oil on linen, 12x18 ,$ 500.00

And some pics from that beautiful location - Wylie Wildlife Refuge in Conway, Wa

"Wet-on-wet" pleinair paintings

Yes, that's right, it's meant to be ironic. It's got as wet as can be. My workshop in La Conner is officially called " Brave Hearts of Art" ..lol. For 3 days the weather gave us challenges and hardships, but we finished, had a few laughs about, and more then a few sweet paintings.
We had a great advantage because a bridge sheltered most of my students while they painted.
Although some of us did decide to fight the elements with umbrellas.
The best brand for us was a Shadebuddy - http://www.judsonsart.com/pleinair/pc/ShadeBuddy-Umbrella-Set-with-Shoulder-Bag-p916.htm - and also a fishing umbrella.
Here are some photos from the workshop. 

Me

The bridge simply was a life saver 

"MARINA" charcoal on paper

I'm so ecstatic to announce a first place win in the drawing category of the Edmonds Art Festival juried show! The award winning piece is "Marina", my charcoal drawing of a friend Marina Solomina.

"Marina" charcoal on paper, 18x24 - $550