Adventures of a Plein Air Painter

The Paint It, Ellicott City! event began yesterday with fair weather. Today it was forecast to be rainy all day.  But I have painted during  rainy days before in the Hudson River valley events.  I knew how to do this. Sit in the back of the car with the easel next to me. I found a spot overlooking College road in the Historic District. After climbing into the back of my Subaru, I realized that the roof was too low to allow me to comfortable. And crosslegged would become a cramped  position quickly. So I got back into the front to drive to another location. After parking down the hill at St. Paul’s Church lower lot, I spied an interesting scene of rooftops of commercial buildings that reminded me of a French photographer’s work. After completing preliminary sketches, I drew the scene in and began building the shadows and architecture. The weather continued with steady rain. I set the windshield wipers to a slow rhythm to keep my view clear. The buildings were stained with moisture; the trees looked extra shadowy. Bricks appeared as pink, adobe, gray, and white. The tarred roofs were sooty gray. The arched windows fascinated me. Rain was coming onto me from the open window as well as onto the passenger seat. Pressing the window button, I found the system unresponsive. Oh well, it would have to wait; there was no time to waste. The painting demanded my full attention. After two and a half hours, I  was as finished for the day and ready to stop and pack up the equipment. I cleaned up the oil brushes and put rags into my trash bag. I tried to start up the engine to drive home, but it refused to start. Looking at my watch I texted my son and left a message about my dilemma. Then I called  AAA from my cell. I didn’t have the  member card with me because I left it on the kitchen table to remind myself that I had to renew. After a few minutes the dispatcher located my membership with the  New Jersey address and told me that a tech would be out within a half hour to jump start my car. Talk about feeling grateful? Yes, and foolish for leaving the wipers working  without having the engine on. What about the art? It’s okay, needs more work.