I spent last weekend plein air painting in Snoqualmie and Seattle on the docks.  The weather was perfect. 

I painted this "shed" the first day.  The light was terrific and I could not resist the addition of the red can.

The next day by the river the air was very misty and there was a lot of smoke from the wildfires several hundred miles south.  The result was a very subdued painting.  I added a few hard edges to take the eye back, but kept the composition and the palette, much like the day, subdued.

The Seattle fisheries dock provided lots of opportunities to paint.  In the morning, I painted an old boat that had seen better days, the hull had originally been painted a turquoise blue, which showed through a lot of rust.  In the afternoon, I turned my easel and painted a large yellow truck - such fun.  This one painted itself!

 

 

 

I have many rose bushes in my NW garden - one of the most remarkable is "Hot Cocoa."  The buds are a dark pinky violet, as they begin to open they turn to orange and then a rusty tone. With the recent hot weather the roses are not lasting as long as usual.  I picked these yesterday and they were turning color and drooping as quickly as I was painting them.  It's parents are Playboy and Easy Living - this particular bush is between the two.  Over the years I often see roses take on the characters of other roses beside them, a white becoming pink, etc.  One of the things I love about gardening!

Just returned from a family vacation in Coronado, California.  Not much time to paint, more fun being a Grandma.  During a huge rainstorm I was able to take a few hours and paint some roses I had spied in a neighbors garden.  No matter how many times I paint roses - it always seems like the first.