Sims Farmhouse
5X7, Gouache on Matboard
We finally got some weather that could be considered winter! And it coincided with some of my plans to go out painting. Actually my plans were for some painting and mountain biking combined into one trip. However, I was planning on riding the Womble Trail in the Ouachita Mountains which is an IMBA Epic trail. It's over 30 miles and traverses some very remote terrain. I have been told not to ride it alone but that was my plan. Had the weather been better I would have gone through with it and gotten in hopefully 5-6 miles and still had time to do a quick painting. However, with temperatures barely expecting to get above freezing and a modest little windchill, I decided that it was exactly the type of weather in which people die from doing dumb things like riding difficult mountain biking trails alone. I still went painting though and made due with the view out the front window of the car. This was my second time to get out with the gouache for some plein air. The first time was not terribly successful. This time, well, just successful enough.
I stopped off in the small town of Mt. Ida just a few miles before this area to take pictures and in doing so ran across a brand new gallery in town! It is called the Ouachita Artist's Gallery and has only been open a few weeks. I dropped in out of the cold and talked painting with them.
View from the front window. I eliminated the large cedar tree.
The portable studio setup
