Heading North for the Holidays

Yes, I have been absent for a week or two.  No excuses but I have been busy.  Our time is spent in Ohio (Cleveland area) and Hilton Head, South Carolina and after a month in the south we pack up our belongings and head back up North to celebrate the holidays with our children and grandchildren.  This task should be pretty easy - and it is for my husband..............

My dear husband, Ed, throws five changes of clothes in a duffle bag and is done.  Me, not so easy.  I have to collect and pack all my art supplies (paints, brushes, easels, and whatever), my clothes (I do not have duplicates up North), clean the house because I absolutely refuse to return to a dirty house, empty the fridge, etc., etc., etc..

This is a pretty unequal distribution of work.  Now compound this by having a house guest for the weekend and an event to go to.  Well, you get the picture.  (lest you think I don't enjoy house guests - I do.  I love to plan a delicious meal (this time it was an homage to Charlie Trotter from one of his wonderful cookbooks)) and enjoy the conversation that ensues and the accompanying wine and camaraderie.

But back to the art side of things.  Packing to plein air paint I have down to a system but hauling things up north and back down south and back up north is a horse of a different color.  I am usually collecting a few paintings I have done and want to deliver to a gallery, or packing up some frames that I need in Ohio, or simply trying to make sure I have all easels and supplies etc. that I might need.  I think it might be a good idea to have a document with all supplies so that I can check them off before a trip.  Note to self: create one before you drive back down South!  This would facilitate a better nights sleep on the eve of the trip.  

So, for now I am back and will be posting frequently.  I think my next post might be the science behind packing to paint "plein air".  

By the way, you can find my work on dailypaintworks.com now.  I have only posted one painting which you can see above, but will be posting another tomorrow, and so on.  This small  6 x 6 inch painting was done from a study that I did in Maryland, in the Deep Creek Lake area.  I just love the blue of the mountains and the rolling landscape in that area.