Watercolor – In The Truest Sense Of The Word

Artists have always been inspired by what nature has to offer. Some take their inspirations back to the studio; but many take their studio outdoors and work ‘en plein air’ – a French term meaning in the open air.

Painting plein air is not without its challenges. If you’ve spent any time in lake country, you’ll be familiar with many of them.

Changeable weather can bring searing heat, strong winds and pounding rain all in the same day. Horseflies and mosquitoes can take a serious bite out of your concentration. And, squirrels (but hopefully not bears) can be determined to see what your backpack holds by way of lunch.

On a summer visit to lake country, I tempted the plein air fates even further by taking my paints and sketchbook to the water in a kayak. My subject was one of the bungalows at Kapasiwin on Wakesiu Lake.

It’s one thing to set yourself up on land to sketch what interests you. It’s quite another to capture an image that keeps drifting out of sight.

With the action of the waves, I found that every five minutes I had to paddle myself off the shoreline rocks or sandy beach and back to where I’d started sketching. Watching out for other boaters and dealing with the wake of powerboats meant I was eyeing more than the scenery.

Keeping my supplies on board and my paper dry was also a challenge. There’s not much wiggle room in a kayak. And, no matter how carefully you paddle, there’s always water dripping or splashing in your lap.

Aiming for straight lines and square corners in a bobbing boat is a losing proposition, so I had to work fast and work free. The best news for a watercolorist is that when you’re on the lake, there’s no shortage of water!

What surprised me most about kayak painting was the tinge of motion sickness (similar to reading in a moving car) that I experienced as I bobbed around in the water shifting my eyes back and forth between my subject and my sketchbook. Still and all, it was a great way to spend a summer afternoon.

The result of my ‘plein air en kayak’ adventure, which you see pictured here, is a playful take on lakeside life.