Carol Berry, Study, Scottsdale Farm, Ontario. Oil, 6 x 8 inches. ©2010.

Here in Toronto, it finally feels like spring will stay! The leaves are budding, the grass is greening up and we’ve put our winter coats and snow boots into storage. 

I’m finally painting regularly, though not every day. I’ve been plein air painting a couple of times in the past three weeks and over the past few months, I’ve gotten myself into the habit of going to Tuesday night life painting with the DVAC. Between the plein air and the life painting, I foresee a steady supply of new paintings and studies to post. 

This small study was done at Scottsdale Farm, north-west of Toronto, where early one surprisingly cold Saturday morning I painted with the Ontario Plein Air Society. I was quite a sight, painting in my big Arctic coat with my hood up, snow pants and leather gloves. I had listened to expert advice and was the most comfortable of the group. This was my maiden voyage with my new painting kit, and of course I forgot to pack a tube of white. Since I was the only person using water-soluable oils, I made do and used the white of the canvas instead.  

I never rework either my life or landscape studies. They capture in a moment in time, relative to the sitter or the landscape as well as to my own energy and focus at that specific time of creation. I’m sure I’ll speed up after I do a few hundred more, and these studies will become more complete little paintings.