Sue Flanagan’s Website

Yesterday, May 23, 09, the Plein Air Painters Chicago-Southwest (PAPC-SW) painted at a new location for us. We went to Cantigny in Wheaton, Illinois. Cantigny has acres of gorgeous manicured gardens. It is also a war memorial. There is a visitor’s center, a restaurant, coffee bar, museum and golf course. This is all part of the Col. Robert R. McCormick foundation. We were welcomed by the staff. This was a nice place to be on a Memorial Day weekend.

Every where you looked there was a scene worthy of a painting. Our group tried to capture the beauty of the gardens. We met at 8:30 a.m. and reconvened outside the visitor’s center for a critique at 12:30. Here is the scene that I chose. It was a nice composition and I purposely wanted to challenge myself in two areas. There was a lot of information in this scene so I had to work on simplifying. I also had to work on perspective. My view finder helped with this.

Here is a picture of me painting the scene and the result of my efforts. There are some adjustments I have to make. However, I think I have good information from this study and the photo to make a nice studio painting.

Our critique is mostly a group problem solving session. It is so interesting to see what other scenes were painted and the different styles. Artists worked in watercolor, acrylic, oil and pastel. Here are some photos of the group and our paintings.

It was about 70 degrees and sunny with a light breeze. The weather and company could not be better. We agreed that it all made for some “happy” paintings. Yes, plein air painting does not get any better than this!

Sue Flanagan