THE TWO TROUT PAINTING

     Mountain Flames | Pastel | 6x8

Our neighbor from the campsite across from us greeted us as we arrived at Cabe Lake Campground just 10 miles east of Ely Nevada. From Las Vegas, he, his wife and mother were staying there for a week or so as it is one of their favorite destinations.  The next morning I set about to paint a scene I had picked out the day before and Donnie drove by just as I was finishing. Later he queried my husband as to whether I would sell it. When I joined them I told him IF we were staying and IF he caught a couple of fish I would have been willing to trade some trout for the painting. Just so happens he had two freshly caught trout up in his freezer! The deal was made and we enjoyed a half hour of sprightly conversation in which we found he (my age) had been stationed during the Vietnam war at Uban, an airbase close to Nakon Penong (NKP) where my Dad had been the vice commander just two years earlier than him.  Henceforth i shall refer to this painting now as my 'two trout painting'!

Painting Notes:  Knowing time was short to paint the next morning, I drew the scene in the night before, covered the surface with the darkest shades for each of the big masses and sprayed it with Spectrafiz so it would be ready to paint on the next morning; thereby shortening the process by a half hour.  I'm really liking Spectratone fixative but en Plein air it takes too long to dry (+15-20 min) so I will use Isoprophyl alcohol at 90% usually on location.