We had a lovely morning at Piney Run State Park, in southern Carroll County. This was the first time we’d been there, and there’s a lot of potential for additional visits (despite the $10 entrance fee for those of us not yet 65). The three of us who turned up gravitated to the boat ramp, where there was a little gazebo and several nice views out across the lake. As usual, I started out well, but lost my way a bit towards the middle. Maryland in summer is so overwhelmingly green (see my July 18 post) that I’ve been trying to follow Bob Rohm’s excellent advice, published in the August 2009 issue of The Pastel Journal (“Red Tree, Blue Tree”), for seeing beyond the local color and making more creative color choices when painting outdoors. I was concentrating on that and achieved some success, but the painting itself – considered as a whole – still needs work. So that’s three plein air pieces that I need to post, once they receive a little attention in my studio.