by Rose Berg
What a great turnout we had (thirteen artists)! The fall colors did not disappoint and the weather cooperated as well. Facilitators Susan and Rose – and backup facilitator, Teri – arrived on Saturday to scope out the area and designate locations for painting.
On Sunday, day one, we all met on the shore of Lake Wenatchee – sunshine and calm water to start the afternoon and by mid afternoon the wind came up and clouds moved in – two different paintings, if you were fast enough to capture both!
A beautiful spot either way and lots of activity in the way of visitors who interacted with our artists.
Evening found us at the 59er Diner for dinner – yup, all decorated in vintage 50’s collectibles complete with a waitress named Flo and a life-size version of James Dean in the women’s bathroom! On the drive back from the restaurant, the moon was full and just rising above the hills in the east. A beautiful sight, enticing Susan to paint a lovely nocturne.
Monday dawned sunny and crisp. The group spread out amongst the various locations – Mountain Springs lodge to paint the beautiful aspens, a plethora of weathered barns, old tractors and the colorful landscape. The lovely fall weather stayed with us; and our group caught the eye of a couple of local artists who stopped to talk and one stayed to paint with us. There were even some paintings sold and one artist got a commission. Congratulations, Karen and Susan Payne!
Dinner that night was planned for the local café in Plain, but we found out early in the day that they closed at 2pm. Plan B! We purchased the fixings for a spaghetti feast and our intrepid President, Karen, cooked for 13! I boiled the water for the spaghetti. 😊 Sated and relaxed, everyone brought in their paintings from the last 2 days to share. A gallery of beautiful art!
Tuesday, high overcast but dry and the last day of the paint-out – we all headed for the Waterfront Park in Leavenworth. Most of the weekend (Oktoberfest) visitors had left and the town was quiet, the waterfront peaceful. A few of our group had gone home the night before, but the remaining members met on the shore of the river and painted the yellows, oranges, reds of the foliage and/or the mountain peaks in the distance – Icicle Peak stood out with its orange foliage which lit up when the sun peeked through for a minute.
It was a wonderful few days – old friends met, new friends were made, and the weather was autumn perfect for the last paint-out of the year.