Painting at the Winery

Went out yesterday afternoon with a group of my pastel friends to paint at the Sugar Loaf Winery on Comus Road. We have one mountain in Montgomery County–Sugar Loaf. It’s a small mountain but you can see it from many angles. And we have one winery, very near the mountain. It’s a pleasant place to be as there is plenty of off-road parking. Most of the others chose to paint a rather boring gray barn that they did wonders with colorwise. I chose to pick and choose from the trees and bushes across the street. I particularly liked the large tree going off at an angle to the left with a brilliant yellow green bush growing up against it. I opened up the scene with a stretch of grass and more sky. There were actually all trees just to the right of the big one! But that’s what we can do outside–look at the landscape and see what will work as a composite! I’m so happy to have this group of wonderful people to paint with. Most are current or former students who live in the area. I got it started, then am asking each of them to organize an outing since I won’t always be here. Kathy organized this one and it was great. We enjoyed a lovely bottle of rose and cheese and crackers after a successful paintout.