Last night, windy still, but the clouds broke and the beauty was sweet ... with shelter

Staying small for the fourth painting at the end of a windy, changeable day, Sara carefully picks a composition that can be done before the dark horizon clouds settle dusk a couple of hours early and force us to exit in the dark.

The group technology is roughly divided between Soltek and more traditional easels. This is one of the things I like about working with other pros, the opportunity to compare tools.

This creek offered shelter from the wind and cold, however I found that my own habits of gouache under pastel wouldn't dry. I was a chance to walk around and discover that on the other side of this creek bend it was even more gorgeous. Next time we hit that spot.

The cold and wind continue, and we painted anyway.

She looks comfortable, but this day the wind peaked around 35 mpg and temps were in the 40s, but the clouds were terrific at times. Kathy paints the roadside tree going for form and tweaking the harmony to work out some of the blue overcast day.

Wet, wet, cold and windy ... painters paint anyway.

October 16th, the first morning was rainy, rainy, rainy.

I didn't even set up but walked around the spit of land that jutted into the marshy open wetness. Joni painting without an umbrella. Sara digging around in her bag and Kathie parked like an elf benefiting from the close shelter of her toadstool.

October in Door County, WI

Just got back from a great painting trip in Door County WI with some wonderful artists, painting companions and fellow foodies. We painted in the cold, the rain and the wind, and tramped through the woods at dawn to catch the sunrise over lake Michigan. Got in some good sketches, and had inspiring conversations over some great meals. Looking forward to our next rendesvous.

And we begin...

Greetings and thank you for visiting this collection of paintings and stories from painters working in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan. We are a limited group of artists working mostly en plein air or in the studio with a strong landscape focus. The group has an affection for a region of the Midwest called the Driftless Area which is a geologically unique area in SE Minn. and Southern WI. This region was not scraped by the last Ice Age moving south and exhibits unique land forms because of this.

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