Earlier in October I took my very first solo trip ever. I laughed, I cried, I sat in silence, I found my courage, and I reconnected with myself.

Of course I also painted. The first day I set out with my paints to look for something pretty. This was not hard as every way I looked looked like a beautiful postcard. I settled on a view across the lake looking at the town. As I started painting I realized I picked a tricky composition but I was committed.

It was chilly in the mountains and I decided to sit in the shade and as the afternoon wore on I got hungrier and colder. I usually push through and get it done but my fingers we’re getting colder and colder. I made the choice to pack up, find food, and warm up.

I ended up sitting outside in the sunshine at a cute little wine bar called Enoteca Alleghe. Instead of pulling out my phone, I pulled out my painting and continued to work on it. I got a few funny looks but I figured painting was better than zoning out on my phone.

I didn’t finish it at lunch and it is actually still 70% done hanging out in my art studio. Maybe I will finish it, and maybe not? Either way it was a fun experience.

On day 2 my goal was to walk around the lake and find somewhere pretty to paint. I set out on the Nordic Walking Trail which was an easy 3 mile loop. While again there were beautiful vistas everywhere I looked, I had something more specific in mind. I wanted to concentrate on one thing, maybe a flower, maybe a tree?

I ended up at this little copse of trees. I had walked past it on my previous day and it caught my eye again.

This time I decided to sit in the sun on a low rock wall and soak up the warm sunshine. As I painted my goal was to capture the leaves just starting to change. It was early October and you could already see the first colors of autumn.

I started by blocking in the background and the shape of the leaves. Then I added darks to create more depth. It was looking like a paper full of color blobs and then I added the branches. The painting came alive, it was like magic. A little brown, a little grey, and my blobs became trees!

I was able to complete this one in one sitting, thank you sunshine. But because I sat in full mid day sun I did get a bit sunburnt. Plein air painting isn’t for the weak.