En Plein Air: The Empty Pedestal on Queens Blvd (Oil, 9 x 12)

It was raining the whole day yesterday, so I just stayed home and didn't go out to paint. When I woke up this morning, I noticed the ground was still wet but the rain had stopped. The sky was overcast. I could see a grayish yellow line over the horizon. Traditionally, we believe it is a sign that heralds snowfalls. Anyway, the weather didn't look good and the temperature had come down quite a bit, to around 40 F.

I pulled my kit all the way to Queens Blvd. It was much windier there. I saw the pedestal standing across the street against the sky over the Grand Central Parkway. There used to be a beautiful statue on top of the pedestal. I saw it several years ago. I had no idea why it had been removed and left behind an empty pedestal for so long. I could not afford the time to day dream, so I set up on the safety island in the middle of the road and began to paint. In a half hour I felt some rain droplets on my arms and it started sprinkling. Soon it stopped. Before I could pat my back to tell myself how lucky I was, it began to rain again. This time it would not stop. I had to pack up my stuff and hit the road. Fortunately it was not very far from home. I was not soaking wet when I got home.