Covid has encouraged me to take more seriously the idea of painting al fresco or as the French would have it Plein air. It is quite challenging as my foray at Long Beach Island last year taught me. But along with some members of the Sussex County Art Society I tried to do some outdoor paining at Memory Park in Lafayette. The still minor Paulinskill river runs through the park heading west and eventually emptying into the Delaware. (I had thought this was the Walkill river that starts in Sparta.) The park also backs onto the antiques markets in the center of town.
I had painted this barn from the opposite side once before and been dissatisfied with the result, mainly because it was fronted by a driveway that distracted me at the time. This one is from across the Paulinskill--reached by a nice covered footbridge. It was early spring and there were few leaves on the trees and the barn was somewhat hidden by thin tree trunks, giving it a somewhat mysterious air.
The second picture I started outside was of some fishermen casting their lines into the river just before it courses under rt. 15 (Main Street, Lafayette). I eventually finished the painting at home in my studio and added a couple more fisherman to give the picture a better compositional feel.
