The plein air competition season is winding down. Soon I’ll be moving out of competition mode and back into painting for myself. It’s been a good year, with several Best of Show awards along the way. I’m grateful for that, but I’m also ready for a change of pace.

Paint Parkville is a five-day event that began earlier this week and wraps up on Sunday. I participated in yesterday morning’s quick paint and called it good. I’m tired! There’s only so much competition painting a person can do before it’s time to take a breath.

The event took place at the Parkville Nature Sanctuary, a beautiful and somewhat unexpected network of trails, waterfalls, and streams. I arrived early to scout out a location. I had only one real requirement: I wanted some open sky to contrast with the trees.

Once I settled in, the painting came together around a few simple things. The sky was glowing as the sun rose above a dark wall of trees. Shadows crossed the ground and a narrow path. A wedge of prairie grass caught the light, and the shapes of the grass, path, and shadows gave the scene a strong sense of movement. That was enough to get me going.

It felt good to loosen up. My recent gouache paintings have done well in competition, but I’ve also felt myself getting a little too precious in my approach. I can spend so much time trying to get a painting right that I lose some of the spontaneity that drew me to the subject in the first place. This morning, I wanted to respond to the light and shapes without fussing over every little thing.

I was only just getting started when a pair of curious friends joined me. Two does wandered close enough to be within arm’s reach at times. They seemed perfectly comfortable with my presence, and I tried not to disturb them. It was a nice bit of company for a morning in the woods.

The light and temperature were just about perfect. The light changed considerably as the sun climbed, but I’d managed to establish the atmosphere early on. That gave me something to work from as the shadows shifted and the scene changed around me.

Since this was my last organized painting event of the season, I decided to have a little fun with it. Nearly all my work on location is done in gouache, but I thought, what the hell? I’d bring oils instead. I also wanted to work on a larger surface than I usually use, and oils let me cover ground quickly.

There is a practical side to painting in competitions that doesn’t get much attention. You have to finish the painting in a limited amount of time, but you also have to frame it and get it ready for submission. I usually prepare my frames and mats ahead of time, and the tailgate of my truck serves as my on-site framing station.

Oils complicate matters. Unlike gouache, they remain wet, so framing them takes a little more thought. For this painting, I used a cradled gesso board and brought along a couple of float frames I’d bought a few months ago. Before painting, I mounted the board in the frame and masked off the frame with painter’s tape. That way, the whole assembly could sit on the easel while I worked. Once the painting was finished, all I had to do was remove the tape. Ready to submit.

At least, that was the plan.

The extra preparation worked, but I somehow managed to secure the board in the frame just slightly askew. I’ll have to wait until the paint is dry before I can square it up. It’s a small problem, and one I’ll know how to avoid next time. That’s part of the learning experience, too.

For now, I’m happy with the painting. It was good to work a little differently, to pay attention to the light and shapes, and not worry quite so much about getting everything just right. After a season of competitions, that feels like a fitting way to finish.

“Sanctuary, Parkville” is a float framed 11 × 14 oil on cradled gesso board. It needs time to cure, but if you’re interested in purchasing it, please get in touch using this contact form. And don’t forget that my October Studio Sale runs through October 31. There are still some screamin’ deals among the small color studies.