Painting en plein air at the John James Audubon house was so much fun last week, I decided to get out my watercolor pans and paint some more. This little gem is Haskell's farm, off of Creek road in Chadds Ford. A lovely place to paint!

Haskell's Barn, 5x8 watercolor, $79.

Haskell's Farm, 5x8 watercolor (SOLD)

Also, I married my darling Park Ranger 30 years ago, today! Back then, we were living at Big Cypress National Preserve. He worked for the Park, and I was a Game Warden for the state. It's been a wonderful life, traveling to and living in National Parks around the globe. Someday, when we get old and tired, we might settle down somewhere.

Brian and Annie, 1985

New Plein Air Paintings!

I had a blast, painting in the plein air competition at the John James Audubon Center at Mill Grove this past weekend! About 50 artists participated in the three day event, and the paintings will be displayed this Friday in the Audubon barn. It was my first plein air event of the year, and I'm not quite up to full speed yet after my emergency heart surgery last month, so I only painted one painting each day. 

Perkiomen River, 8x10 oil, $195.

I painted this view of the Perkiomen River from the back porch of the Audubon Museum. The trees were just starting to bloom that day - they were still bare in the morning, and by the afternoon a green halo had appeared around all the trees.

Bat House, 8x10 oil (SOLD).

 This large bat habitat stands behind the Audubon barn, and from a distance looks like a tree house. It  housed hundreds of bats, but unfortunately it's now empty due to the White Nose Syndrome epidemic.

Audubon Pines, 8x10 oil, $195.

On the second day of the plein air, the hardwoods were still bare. I found a willing subject in this pair of pine trees, across from the front door of the Audubon Museum. Bird feeders and houses were hanging everywhere on this property, and the trees were full of wildlife. It is a wonderful place to go and paint! This site is the former home of John James Audubon, and is next to Valley Forge Nat'l Park.