Carol Berry, Swimming Pond at Cedar Valley Resort. oil, 8 x 10 inches. ©2011.

This is my first plein air landscape painting of the summer, done in a couple of hours, a month ago at our trailer park. Cedar Valley Resort is much more like an Ontario Provincial Park and is the opposite of average trailer parks, I love that each lot is quite private, surrounded by trees and tall cedar hedges. 

Last summer I painted my landscapes in the hot sun on the side of lonely country roads and I got a few nasty sunburns. I have decided to park my plein air setup in the shade this summer and so far I am loving it! No sunburn and no need to attach my easel umbrella, vastly simplifying setup and reducing the risk of having the wind topple everything over. This was my first test with my new EasyL Lite pochade box, it passed with flying colours – it is a very well made and thought-out kit.