I love painting outside! When the Plein Air event is in my home town, it is so exciting! This is the third year it’s been held and the third year I’ve taken part. I had a great time!

It was intense in time and heat; I tried to get out early on 4 mornings to catch the morning light. I aimed at 7 am, but usually hit 8 am. By 11 am the temperature was in the mid 90s, so I came home and went out to paint again on 5 evenings, 7-9:30 pm.

I like to choose a theme to reduce the time I spend deciding where to paint. This year my theme was the campus of Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, which accounts for 5 of the 6 paintings. The other one is a farewell to JoAnn Fabrics, before they take all the signs and wording down.

I had great interactions with the public (someone even wanting to buy one of the paintings!) and fun talking with the other artists. This for me is a very positive side effect of painting outside.