Season of change

Old Ford truck, painted by Lisa David en plein air (outside). Located in Saratoga county, upstate New York.

Finally, it’s spring here in upstate New York. The earth has come alive with chirping and squeaking, bright yellows, chartreuse greens. There is great excitement among my plein air painter friends. Everyone is talking about shows they are in and planning meet-ups. This is all new to me. I discovered plein air last summer. Ask anyone who knows me, and they’ll tell you I’ve been obsessed with it ever since. I have entered a few shows, teaching a workshop, even started a club with 15 high school painters! Needless to say, I’m hooked. This spring season for me is full of change. Personally, I’m about to become a grandmother to my son and his wife’s first baby. My daughter is also getting married this year. Yikes! Now I find myself packing my car almost daily with art supplies venturing out for another adventure.

If you like adrenaline, fast rides, and attention, plein air painting in public might be for you. But if you are like me, and are more solitary, like nature, then painting in quiet locations is for you. This season of change, I plan to “tip toe” into painting more in public places, as opposed to painting in more remote settings.

Old school truck for the North Colonie School District sitting in a field in Saratoga County.

The wonderful thing about painting outside, plein air, is that there are no rules, except you shouldn’t trespass! In this season of change, I finally got the nerve to ask permission to paint something I’d been eyeing for years. A family farm until about 12 years ago, my suburban development has some rich history. Near the entrance, there is an old truck covered in tall grass. I’ve had my eye on that truck since the day we moved in, about 9 years ago. I finally summoned the courage to ask the owner of the property adjoining the parcel figuring I could at least access the truck. My suburban neighbor was more than gracious about walking through his property. I didn’t get permission of the actual land owner because I never see them around and I figured the old truck has been parked there for at least 20 years. Trust me, this truck hasn’t moved in at least that long. There are lots of pieces of old farm equipment scattered through the field. Within five minutes of setting up my easel, an older gentleman wearing his Saturday plaid flannel and jeans approached me. However, to my surprise, he was thrilled that I was painting in his back yard. In fact, he brought me around and showed me lots of other treasures on the property, including an old pond and a corn crib. I was thrilled! I met an interesting person who was more than willing to share his property. Phew, I wasn’t trespassing and in fact, this one property will yield an abundance of wonderful paintings! I’m glad that in this season of change; I was bold enough and decisive enough to finally paint that old truck!

Plein Air Painting by Lisa David.