Plein air river sketches continued

Georgia Watercolor Society Plein Air outing at Island Ford, Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area.  Eleven of us setup along the trail, down river from the lodge.  The day was warm, but not too bad if your sitting in the shade along the river.  We had an hour and a half to sketch and paint.  For this outing I brought my Watercolor travel kit.

I stopped at a wide spot on the trail with a good view of the river.  As I looked out at the fishermen wading the shallows several canoes floated past.  One man had a small dog in a life vest with him.  I watched as he picked the dog out of the water by the vest's straps and let the water drip off before putting it back in the boat.  Several more rafts and canoes full of teenagers drifted past, and a large flock of Canada Geese swam out into the river from a side stream.  

I sketched one of the fly fishermen out wading the river.  Then setup my chair and settled down to paint.  The brown-red clay of the far bank ran between the fresh yellow-green of the trees and dark green-blue of the river.  A cedar house set back in the shadows of the distant trees surrounded by a lawn of bright yellow-green.  Reflections of the green and yellow trees ripple across the still areas of the river around the fishermen.   

After our hour and a half we gathered back together at the Lodge to share our experiences.  Some beautiful paintings were made by the group, and everyone had a great time.  Hope we do it again soon!