Daily painting Practice - Lake Superior Plein Air Study

I have a good reason for not posting the last few weeks. My plein air photographer/wife and I were invited by our good friends up North to enjoy a long week at their cabin in the North woods of Wisconsin. Not only did we have the best time hiking, boating, eating , talking, eating, fishing and eating, but I also had a great time gathering reference paintings and photos for a new series of work from the Northwoods.
Here I am painting on the shore Lake Superior. We traveled to Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park which is located in Michigan’s Western Upper Peninsula. The park has 60,000 acres and the largest tract of old-growth timber in the Midwest.

This is what I was looking at.
I had to paint fast because the tide was coming in and my feet were about to get wet. As the waves got closer, the left leg of the easel kept sinking into the soft wet sand. It made for some interesting body positions as I tried to paint the horizon
I find the best part about painting plein air is when I have to work very fast. I don't have time to think or worry what the painting will look like. I do seem to enjoy the process more under that pressure. If I had a few hours to paint in this spot I would begin to think too much instead of just responding to the color and light.

click on the painting to enlarge the image

Lake Superior Shore Line- Plein Air Study
9"x12"
oil on canvas

I will use this study to begin the first of the new series.I have about 50 ideas for paintings lined up from the trip. I'll post more about the sites and the studies over the next few weeks.