Plein Air in April (Wyoming-Style)

My husband, great dad that he is, agreed to host my daughter's playdate with her best friend last Sunday, freeing me up to get in the studio.  Trouble was, I couldn't seem to get anything going in there.  Not that I don't have tons to work on, but for some reason, my head was not in the game.  I think it was because I had the itch to paint outside.  I looked around the back yard, but nothing was inspiring me.  So, with hubby's blessing, I threw the gear in my car and took off down the canyon. 

Now, plein air painting in Wyoming in the winter is no mean feat, especially an impromptu trip without the appropriate gear like snowshoes and snow pants.  Not many pull-outs are plowed, and often you can't see over the snowbanks.  Without snowshoes to hike across the drifts, you're out of luck. 

Wait a minute, you say, it's APRIL - that's SPRING, not winter.  Well, just for giggles, I shot a pic of myself at my painting location (near Bondurant, WY, at the other end of the Hoback Canyon).  Looks like Spring!

Spring in Bondurant, Wyoming.

This road is a favorite of mine - it is maintained throughout the winter and recently became much wider due to a number of private homes being built along it.  Nonetheless, it's mainly for access to a couple of large ranches, and the scenery all along it is spectacular (it's a loop through ranchland and National Forest).   The wide road and low traffic mean easy painting and access to off-road sites too (though not right now!).  Even though I swore I wouldn't paint another snow scene...here I am.  Painting snow.

Pastels + Snow = Perfection!

I painted here for an hour and a half and not one car passed me the entire time.  I did get a visit from a pair of bluebirds who perched on a clump of snow just a few yards from me and looked at me curiously as if to say, "What the heck are YOU doing out here?"  The brilliant blue of the male was breathtaking, but of course, my camera was not in reach.  I did, however, catch this fellow later:



Chilly robin wondering if he took
a wrong turn at Albuquerque.

There is something so freeing
about being out painting in nature, alone, with no one watching but the birds.  Time flies, my heart soars, and I do crazy things like dance.  Often I just enjoy the sounds of nature as I paint, but this time, since it was windy, I used my car as a windblock and the foam headphones of my iPod to keep my ears from freezing off.  So, singing at the top of my lungs, dancing around my easel, I painted snow and felt like everything in the world was perfect, at least for that moment.

Field Sketch from April 17, 2011

©Jennifer L. Hoffman