I had the joy of serving as the Artist-in-Residence at Camp House from June 29-July 5, 2024. My job was to bring art into the daily rhythm of camp life. I did this by offering art workshops in the afternoon and by setting up my plen air equipment and painting and drawing all week. People were free to stop by the art station to create their own drawings any time, or simply enjoy watching me create. It was magical.

Join me as I walk through the week of image-making with you…

Saturday.

Arrival. It was cold and windy as I arrived in the afternoon, but the clouds parted at sunset. I took a moment to sketch the pontoon with my fountain pen from the comfort of the lodge.

Sunday.

It was cold in the morning. The air against the warm lake water formed billowing clouds of fog. I sat, bundled up in the chill air, hoping to capture the movement of the fog from the lake before breakfast. This is gouache paint in my sketchbook.

Sunday afternoon was very relaxed. There was no programming. Some people were leaving camp, new people arriving. It was warm and sunny. I took the opportunity to paint two gouached sketches from the same spot.

This first sketch is of the largest White Pine tree in the area. One of the staff told me that some people call this the Mother Tree. I was captured by the depths of shadow at the base of the tree and how the highlights popped from the warm sun.

I offered workshops all week on how to create Zentangles. This first one I did by myself on Sunday afternoon. People had left and new people had not yet arrived. I took my time and sat in wonder as this sketch emerged before my eyes. I love the contemplative adventure of drawing zentangles.

These two Zentangles were created as demonstrations during workshops throughout the week.

Sunday afternoon was so lovely that I did another sketch from the same spot where I sketched Mother Tree. This is one of the cabins on the waterfront. I wanted to capture the way the light hit the bottom sills of the windows as the shadows crept down the face of the building.

Monday.

The day was filled with activity and art workshops. I felt like sketching with my fountain pen during the afternoon waterfront activities. It is fun to try to capture people in a moment.

Tuesday.

It was cold and rainy all day. I didn’t mind. The weather gave me the opportunity to sit inside and draw this dragon from my imagination. I used the old upright piano as my easel and worked on it throughout the week. People enjoyed checking in on the progress. I used a range of pencils from 2B-6B. The smoke effect came from extracting graphite with a kneadable eraser.

Wednesday.

This woodfired brick pizza oven sits in the middle of the camp. It captured my attention right away. I finally got a chance to paint it on Wednesday afternoon. The charring from years of cooking, along with the mosaic tiles and organic stone work was so interesting to me.

I also got to make pizza in it two times. YUM!

Thursday.

I walked over these roots all week as I made my way to the dining room. I love the way roots weave in and out of each other. This painting was done early in the morning when it was chilly. I’m glad it was because the mosquitos were really thick. I had my hood pulled tight around my face to protect from the chill and the bugs!

Thursday evening our Musician-in-Residence did a musical presentation and asked if I would create a painting while he was playing music. We focused on Genesis 1:1-3 as the text on which I would visually meditate. This is the image that emerged during the experience. I was trying to capture the Spirit of God hovering over the surface of chaos.

Friday.

Time to go home. I took this photo to capture both the scale of the images and the context of where they were created. My drawing board propped up on this old piano made a great easel.

Thank You!

You made it through the gallery. Thanks for sharing this with me. I’d love to hear your feedback or questions in the comments below.