Tidal Bore Park Plein Air

Our first water mixable plein air painting session. Helen and I found it plenty challenging, but fun.

The most challenging part for me was to figure out a way to handle the paint mixing without having the use of a pochade or a French easel.
I sat in a folding chair, and mixed paints on one of those palette pads. The other aspect that really challenged me was to mix the right values and hues.

We learned so much in the two hours! We also entertained questions and comments from the passersby, and generally had a very pleasant afternoon in the shaded section of the local Tidal Bore Park.
It's so named not for its 'boring' park, ha ha, but for its ideal viewing access to the tidal bore, a large wave of sea water that bores up the river, ushered in twice daily at high tide.

The two ladies on the bench sat for so long there that I included one in the painting, then showed it to them. This painting measures 9" x 12".

Looks like you had a fun time, and the painting looks like a good study for a future painting.

What struck me especially funny was that so many people sat on that bench, one after the other, that I had to leave it to be painted last. By then, I had painted all around it, and ended up kind of "blobbing in" the colour of the bench, wet-on-wet-on-wet.
And I was sitting down, leaning forward, mixing paint with my paper palette on the ground at my feet, trying not to flip it over into the grass.
I guess the main thing is that I enjoyed the experience, and now know a little bit more for next time.

Very nice painting! Sounds like it was a fun experience.