Yay! It’s time for the Pastel Society of Maine’s Plein Air Retreat!

I can’t say enough good things about being with these people. There is so much love and generosity, intelligence and mutual supportiveness that we all just slurp up being together, feeling replenished, included, and encouraged.  It’s a busy time painting and being in fellowship, and on top of that, I’m their cook. Later in the week I’ll share our finished paintings and my food.

Meanwhile, here are my photos from Wednesday evening until Thursday evening last week. We were 14 in all and stayed in an eleven bedroom old house in Northport, Maine, on 65 acres, on a hill overlooking both the Camden hills and the ocean. The sun comes up at 4:30 am with no black out shades!

We spent our first morning painting in Camden in the library gardens near the bay. It was misting and chilly, but that didn’t stop us!  In the afternoon, we painted the incredible vista from Mount Battie.

The flowers everywhere were lovely, and the camaraderie and conversation wonderful. We played games after dinner: Five Crowns and Bananagrams.