Plein Air Adventures first trip recap

Well we have made it home and I am resting my strained ankle.  I didn't really talk about it much after I did it but, I sprained my ankle about 10 days before my trip. I was out of the boot before we left and one of my companions gave me a light ankle brace to use.  That probably saved the trip for me.  We started out with a lot more stuff than we needed on the first 2 days and by the 3rd, we had winnowed things down by quite a bit.  I had bought a cart but ended up finding it harder to use on uneven ground than I had hoped.  It limited where we could go and now I have found a backpack that I can use.

When painting from sooo much material, it was hard to stick to a simple image.  I found myself getting confused by what I was painting and loosing my place in the composition.  I had done a thumbnail sketch but ended up doing a thumbnail, then a quick 5x7 sketch to moving finally to ana 8x10 surface to my final image.  That was so successful that I actually sold one of my paintings right off the trail!  Teaching was a bit more difficult, as I was learning at the same time and wasn't able to help my friends too much until the fourth day.  Even then, trying to help them; was difficult because I was sitting on the ground and wasn't able to jump up and see what they were doing from where they were.  We each wanted to paint from a specific place and that made it more difficult for someone farther away.  

I was able to dial things in better and my painting on the fourth day turned out the best I think. but now I find that I am trying to work out the logistics of accessing my pastels, being mobile for my students and sitting at the same time.  I'm on the hunt for a collapsable easel that is stable, a system to hold my pastel box and a way to sit easily.  I have a few physical limitations outside of my ankle that make it important to rest my back.  All in all, as an artist; I learned a ton about creating a composition and keeping to it.  The next trip is going to be about helping my students.  I will say, this isn't going to be a class where beginners can start.  There will be too much equipment for them to invest in.

I want to thank The Washington State Arts Commision for funding this and the National Endowments for the Arts.