Blog

Our days at Paint Camp began to fall into a rhythm.  Rise early enough to walk down to the cafeteria for breakfast, chatting with friends, to fix our sack lunch and to hear Eric Rhoads greet us and make announcements about the day's activities.

 
Of course we could go anywhere we wished to paint, but if we wanted to paint with the group, we chose either group A's destination or group B's.  Most of us followed the caravan to one of the day's chosen spots. 

The Flume
On Wednesday Laura and I decided to stay with the group that painted at the Flume.  The previous year, I had painted at the Flume, I painted above the falls because I wanted to stay with my friend, Mary.  This year I wanted to see the Flume from below, so we hiked down the cliff to the narrow band of shore which had a good view of the falls.  Since the water was really high this year, painters lined up along the shore and I didn't like the view I had.  It was fun watching some of my friends paint -- Nedra Smith and I had painted together on our rafting trip through the Grand Canyon on the Colorado River.  After a while I decided to cross the bridge and see what I could see from the other side of the shore.  It was a bit difficult to get to a spot where I could see the falls, but at least I wasn't competing with umbrellas and worried about blocking other people's views.   I managed to hike and scoot and crawl out on a rocky cliff overlooking the river and looking back at the Flume.

Since I was on the shady side of the river AND sitting on a rather damp, cool rock, - even wearing my warmest clothes - by the time I was "finished" with my study, I was ready for some warm sun!

Here is my first Flume block-in and study:

High On A Rock -The Flume  10" x 10" O/L

I was fairly pleased with it... 

After I hiked back up the cliff and over the bridge I went to a spot on the other side of the flume somewhere near where I had painted the year before and painted this one.  I had to finish it later at home, though.

Above The Flume  8"x 10" O/L

In The Evening

Evenings were spent socializing, sharing stories and looking at the paintings amassed in a large room.  Sometimes campers got caught in downpours, but most of the time we got our exercise hiking from the dorms to the cafeteria and back.

The next day almost all of us went to Heaven Hill Farm which is a lovely historical building used as a conference center surrounded by green fields, trees and distant hills. 

Some painted by the house but many of us simply pulled up on the side of the road and painted by our cars.  It was a warm, sunny day.  

Later that day we drove to St. Regis Falls to paint.  On the way we experienced the sirens again this time with pick up trucks passing by at high speeds with flashing lights.  Upon investigation we found that there had been a child who claimed to have seen one of the escaped prisoners so they were on alert and searching the area.   

These are the two studies I did on Thursday:
 

    Another fun day at Paint Camp in the Adirondacks!


If you get the opportunity to go to Paint Camp with Eric and friends, you should do it!