This post has been sitting in my drafts for weeks!  I know some of you must have been losing sleep because I left you hanging about the Lucketts Spring Market.  I will not torture you any longer.  Here’s how the afternoon of painting went back in May…

After my triumphant antique find and a morning of scurrying from shopping the Lucketts Spring Market to selling paintings, I settled into my space to do some live painting.  I decided to do a still life, since it’s a subject that would come together pretty quickly, and I would be okay starting and stopping.  Animal portraits require a bit more focus.  I printed out the reference photo ahead of time and made a loose sketch, so I wouldn’t totally choke on the spot!

I set up my tripod and travel easel in the shade under a tree among the tables of the wine garden, so I wasn’t hidden in the tent.

I usually paint alone in my studio, so it’s a different experience painting with people stopping to watch and chat.  It was so much fun, though.  It’s the kind of event that simultaneously saps energy in some ways and replenishes it in others.  My feet were sore from standing, and I was mentally tired from being “on” all day, but I felt bolstered by the conversations and lovely people I met.  I met some who have followed my blog since the early days, and a couple who traveled all the way from California to shop at Lucketts!  I also had the chance to reconnect with some lovely ladies I’ve met on previous occasions.

It reminded me how good it is to get out of my studio, away from my easel and keyboard, and take time to connect face-to-face (or IRL, as my boys say).

I did get the painting almost finished before packing up, but I knew the values needed adjusting, and those lemons were way too low in the composition.  I tried to salvage them, but they were inevitably going to get cut off by a frame, so I decided to paint them out.

Here is the finished painting (which already sold to someone who was at Lucketts)…

It felt fitting to include an ironstone milk pitcher since it was being painted at the Lucketts Market.  I have sold thousands of pieces of ironstone at the Lucketts Spring Market over the years, not to mention as a vendor at the Lucketts Store!  So, this was a little nod to the past.

I shared earlier that attending this event would be a test to see whether it was worth doing more in-person sales and demonstrations.  By the end of the day, I was convinced I needed to plan ahead and go bigger in the fall!  I’m not sure what that will look like yet, but I’ll be there with my new book, Move Slow and Make Things, and more original oil paintings and fine art prints.