EGRET PAUSING ON THE CONODOGUINET CREEK By Cecelia Lyden

oil/canvas

This is one og the many egrets visiting the Conodoguinet Creek in Mechanicsburg. He rested for several minutes, giving me a lot of time to photograph him, to be painted later.
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MALLARD IN THE WILDWOOD PRESERVE By Cecelia Lyden

11x14

oil

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I spotted this Mallard Duck while painting in the Wildwood Preserve and photograhed it. As much as I liked the colors of the duck, I loved the blues of the water with the sun shining on it and the greens of the tree reflections. The tangle of tree branches was fun to paint, too.

BIRDHOUSE AND AZALEAS By Cecelia Lyden

oil/stretched canvas

11x14

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Another gray day, but not raining; so I decided to travel to my neighbor's yard to catch some beautiful azalea color before the wet weather washed it all away. I set up the composition, laid in the values [very flat with no sunshine to create shadows], colors and large and small shapes and finished the details indoors while it rained outdoors.

HOME ON FRONT STREET, WEST FAIRVIEW By Cecelia Lyden

oil/stretched canvas

8x10

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Rainy days present opportunities to paint indoors.I spotted this "collection" of houses and telephone poles on Front St. in West Fairview. Crazy how I hate poles and wires despoiling and clogging up beautiful landscapes and towns, but I love them in paintings. The poles help to define size and distance through linear and atmospheric perspective. The telephone lines lead your eye around the painting and unify the objects in the composition. Mostly I love the familiarity they bring to paintings. With me, familiarity means comfort.

MCKEES HALF FALLS By Cecelia Lyden

oil/stretched canvas

12x16

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It was a hot and humid day, but not at the Falls. Abundant shade and a steady breeze kept me comfortable for the 3 hours I was there.The sky was blue, and so was the water. The clouds in my painting appeared just as I was leaving-I photographed them and added them at home.

COLONIAL CROSSROADS B and B by Cecelia Lyden

oil/canvas

8x10

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Julie and I stopped to paint at the Colonial Crossroads Bed and Breakfast the other day. The owners, the Gordens, retired teachers, were there and gave us permission to park in their driveway and paint. Ed Gorden was friendly and talked about his purchase and restoration of the structure, built in 1790. I googled it and saw that the interior was just as charming as the exterior.

ORANGE CANOE ALONG THE CONODOGUINET By Cecelia Lyden

oil/stretched canvas

9x12

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SVPAP member, Liz Gallucci, invited us to paint in her backyard, which overlooks the Conodoguinet Creek and is filled with beautiful, old, large trees. Her yard and those of her neighbors are not fenced in and we were invited to paint in any of the yards. I spotted the orange canoe, pitched upward in front of ferns, with the creek in the background. Perfect subject matter for a painting.

PEACEFUL OASIS By Cecelia Lyden

oil/board

12x18

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Two days of beautiful weather in a serene location made this plein air paintout a most pleasant experience. I was situated in a shady area with only fleeting moments of sunlight peeking through the leaves. Consequently, there were some strong darks under the rocks, etc. I was having difficulty mixing colors dark enough. Then I remembered, in a workshop with Ron Donoughe, his suggestion of a mixture of Thalo Green and Alizarin Crimson to make black. I used this to darken other colors. It worked. Thank you, Ron.