Tilbury Rock

We're back from our annual 2-week wilderness camping trip to Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, Canada. It was GRAND! And even better because I painted…a lot! This is the first painting I did. Legend has it (at least in the Ferguson Family anyway), a luxury ship called The Tilbury crashed on the rocks off this coast many many moons ago. We've always called it Tilbury Rock. Some people are still hoping to find treasures here. ;o)

So... on to my plein air experience...

Just before leaving I’d ordered a Pochade box for myself so I could try plein air painting in earnest.  I wanted something small, lightweight and simple to set up and use. I decided on the 6”x8” thumb box from Guerrilla Painter. All my paints and the turp filled brush washer fit inside the box under the palette. I also ordered the world’s smallest brush cleaner (a tiny leak proof covered plastic cup with its own removable insert).  There’s also a cool easel adapter that slides into the top part of the box allowing for more panel sizes. And lastly I ordered a universal tripod mount. If you order it with the box, they install it for you. Nice!

 
On the first beautiful day I set off carrying my equipment. I wasn’t going far so just carried the tripod, Pochade box, brushes and paper towels.

I chose a spot overlooking the ocean to set up.

Before leaving home I had created a brush holder by drilling several holes in the cover of a plastic container. I attached it to the pochade box with a thick rubber band. I also used a couple of small bungee cords to slip though my paper towel roll and hook onto the rubber band. The towel holder worked perfectly….but not so for the brush holder which I’ll talk about in tomorrow’s post. 

 Here’s my set up with paints ready and panel adapter in place. 

Not a bad view!

Putting in the finishing touches…wild white beach roses. Day 1 of plein air painting was a blast! And much to my surprise, being very comfortable with the ease of studio painting, I was eager for more. I'll be posting the paintings I did and more images over the next week.

Oil on panel, 6" x 6", $100 + $10 domestic shipping 
or contact brenda@brendaferguson.com