Plein Air with Musser

I was holding out on posting until I heard from the Pernod contest in hopes that I would have good news to share, but it turned out to be in vain. Although I was a finalist, I didn't place in the contest (but congratulations to those who did). My Threadless design also didn't get a very high rating, so I doubt that it will be printed. So, back to the drawing board...or table.
On a more positive note, what better way to ward of those art rejection blues than to do some therapeutic plein air painting? The answer, of course, is that there is no better way. Yesterday, Andy Musser and I went painting at the Lakewood Heritage Center just west of Bel Mar. Below you can see our painting post, our subject, and Andy's fine acrylic painting. We didn't know what that little green shelter was supposed to be used for, but it made for a great impromptu studio.


And here is my study in oil, still taped to the sketchbox easel palette as it dries:

This week I have a few less hours at Sears Westland, so I hope to get some more painting and drawing done and post some more life drawings to get this blog caught up. I've been working on a couple of acrylic on canvas illustrations, so those will show up here soon.