August 7th Paint Out on the Old Town Alexandria waterfront

"Little No Name" 9x12 oil on panel

As posted earlier, today was the second ALPAP paintout.  I just came up with that.  I like it.  It stands for Art League Plein Air Painters, so now I shall refer to us as the Alpaps.
      The morning was hot and humid but mercifully overcast.  Last evening I had picked out the spot I wanted to paint but I was there at 4:30 just before a thunderstorm and didn't realize that in the morning I would be standing in full sun.  Even with the haze tree cover was desirable so I moved to a spot left of the scene I really wanted to paint. I didn't finish my painting as you can see from the underpainting that shows.  I am referring to the burnt umber color of the gazebo and parts of the building on the right. I will work on it during the week when I take breaks from the pond.  I am not wild about what I have here.  I think I should paint shark teeth on the front of the boat.  That boat really needs to be anchored:)  I get punchy when I am tired or to borrow a word from a friend in the UK, I am feeling knackered.  I think that puts it better.  Seriously though, the boat looks like it is going to leap out of the water.  I need the ropes and rigging but at this tiny size don't want to overdo it.  It just might be one of those that will never work and I will write it off as a learning experience.
      There were eight of us today and we were a great group.  We had a brief critique and headed for the air conditioning.  I will say we are serving our purpose as many people stop to talk and seem very interested in what we are doing.  We wear our Art League aprons so we are good advertising!http://www.jeanschwartzpaintings.com/