"Paint the Past" Plein Air Weekend

Kings Landing Paint Out

On August 22-23 fifteen artists gathered at Kings Landing to plein air paint to raise money for the Kings Landing Foundation.  I was lucky to be one of them.  Others came from Fredericton, Saint John, Woodstock, Maine and as far away as Sydney, NS.  This is expected to become an annual event sponsored by the Kings Landing Foundation.  They treated us very well, giving us access to the Landing to paint as we wished.  The staff helped us with whatever we needed to set up our chosen scenes.  They fed us well and put on a reception on Sunday where the paintings were displayed and offered for sale.  The paintings will continue to be for sale at the Reception Centre until Thanksgiving.

Pictured below is an image taken by Don Carroll of me painting 'Lion', the Landing's Ox.  He was not sure he wanted his portrait painted but was willing to let me work.  Lewis, his caretaker, told me his history.  He is 15 years old, weighs 2400 pounds and unfortunately lost his mate a number of years ago.  He has been under Lewis' care his whole life.  Lewis gave him the unusual name, 'Lion'.  The barn in which he resides contains a beautiful set of stocks as well as his yoke, both very nice artifacts from the past.

 

Painting the Ox at Kings Landing

Shown below is the painting I did of 'Lion'.

Lewis' Lion

On Saturday I worked with the teamsters and the horses.  They were very accommodating and fed the horses in the barn rather than in the pasture so I could paint them.  I was able to watch the activities around the barn all day as I worked on my painting.  That was good entertainment!  There were at least 6 draft horses present including one colt.  It was easy to tell that the horses are very well cared for and loved.  They provide a great service to the Landing, pulling two wagons loaded with people around all day.  

Shown below is the painting I did of the horse barn and its activities.

The Horse Barn

The horses were not hitched to the carriage shown here.  It appeared to be only on display.  The wagon used to haul guests was much larger and sturdier.  Shown in the painting are the 'Gray' and two of the Belgians who were feeding in the central alleyway of the barn.  The colt was also present with its mother.  

The two paintings are presently on sale at Kings Landing at the Reception Centre.