Oil, Sketch: The Afternoon on the Lawn (12 x 16)

I believe I caught the flu during the vacation on the west coast. Even before we got home, both my wife and I began to cough. I had been confined home for a few days when the symptoms got more and more severe. I lost my voice, got blood-shot eyes, stuffed nose, and sore throat. I kept coughing all the time believing time was the only cure when my wife noticed that I forgot to cough and was very quiet when I was painting a plant pot at home. Therefore, in spite of the fact that I still felt a little light-headed, I decided to go out to paint this afternoon.

I knew I could find people on the lawn inside the Forest Gardens near Ascan Ave. and it was not too far away. I put all my painting stuff in the shopping cart and pushed it along Burns St. Maybe it was too early and the school was not over yet. I saw only two girls sitting on the lawn. Without hesitating, I set up to paint them. Right when I finished laying down the image of the first girl, the other one lied down on the grass. So I simply painted her that way. For the sketch, I just lay blocks of color on the canvas. The whole thing took not quite an hour and a half.

The Starkins' House (Oil, 12 x 16)

Vacation

Hi, Dear Followers:

I'll be on vacation for a week or so. There won't be any posts on this blog during the period of time.

Thank you.

Weimin Mo

En Plein Air: The Soccer Players at the Forest Park (Oil, 9 x 16)

It was a sunshiny day today. I went to the park this afternoon, having in my mind the picnicking people on the lawn. Maybe I went there a little too late. By the time I set up, they were ready to leave. Therefore, I made a composite sketch of the soccer players.

En Plein Air: The Shadows on the Wall (Oil, 12 x 9)

It is an apartment building on Burns St in the Forest Gardens near Ascan. In fact, I decided to paint it yesterday when I was on my way home from a haircut at the barber's on Ascan. I noticed the shadows on the wall and felt like depicting its subtlety. I like the color contrast, too.

En Plein Air: Union Turnpike near the Forest Park (Oil, 12 x 9)

En Plein Air: Queens Blvd. by 78th Ave. (Oil, 9 x 12)

Actually, what you see in the painting is only half of the thoroughfare, the westbound traffic on the road. I stationed myself this morning at the intersection of 78th Ave. on a road divider which provided a safe island with an iron fence on one side. At intervals, the vehicles stopped abreast in front of me for the light to change.

En Plein Air: The Christian Science Church of the Gardens (Oil, 12 x 9)

It is not the first time that I painted the church. I still remember how surprised I was to see a church of the denomination located in the Forest Gardens. As a matter of fact, the church is not in practice anymore. The property of the church has been put for sale. Someone told me the church asks for a price of $700,000. It is another sign that indicates the decline in its membership in the past 30 years.

En Plein Air: Park Lane South (Oil, 12 x 9)

A week ago, on Saturday when I was sketching, I saw many people in all age groups come out to enjoy the beautiful weather. On the lawn of the Forest Park, they were doing all kinds of activities: chatting, sun bathing, picnicking, baseball playing, dog walking, kite flying, you name it. Besides, there were Muslims, Jews and other minorities who were dressed in colorful traditional costumes. I was excited and told myself that I would come to paint figures the next Saturday. Unfortunately, it was cloudy today and there were not many people on the lawn. I finally saw a man sitting on the bench. Believing he would sit there for a while, I rushed to set up. However, barely before I got everything ready, the man stood up and took off. Unwillingly, I put things back in the bag and began to go deep into the woods. The trail happened to be parallel to Park Lane South outside the park. Suddenly I realized that there was a spot on Park Lane South where I had painted a snowy landscape. So I went off the trail and got to the place. 

En Plein Air: The Congregational Church of the Gardens (Oil, 12 x 9)

I have seldom painted anything from a worm's eye view. I did this morning on the sidewalk outside the church.