Storefront Plein Air Challenge

Saturday, September 2, I went out at 7:30 AM to paint the Leola Thrift Shoppe. The sky was overcast, but I wanted to complete the storefront challenge opened by James Gurney, which had officially ended two days before, and also start using my new customized outdoor easel.

I setup my watercolors and began with a careful sketch of the storefront. I used a ruler to help with straight lines and angles and to estimate perspective. When the shop manager arrived, I explained what I was up to and requested permission to continue. She was very encouraging and expressed interest in seeing the final result.

Customized outdoor easel

After correcting the sketch to a satisfying degree, I began painting quickly, mixing and adjusting colors as needed on the fly. It began to rain, so I held an umbrella in one hand after unsuccessfully clamping it to the side of the easel. Before opening time, two associates, one of whom happens to have plans to study art, arrived and came over to see my work.

After about 4 hours of drawing and painting in the rain

In the end, I quickly painted a background and roughly went over text on the sign in black ink. During the course of painting, several customers and other people walked over to see what I was up to. All of them were very positive and encouraging.

The Leola Thrift Shoppe. 6" x 8" Watercolor.

The results of the storefront challenge can be viewed here. I enjoyed this challenge and am definitely looking forward to an announcement of the next painting challenge at the Gurney Journey blog site.

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