Plein Air Weekend - Day 2 - Saturday

Saturday July 30, 2011
Pt. Defiance Rose Garden, Tacoma, Washington

Susie Short painting at Pt Defiance Rose Garden

For Day Two of my plein air weekend my destination was the beautiful rose gardens in Point Defiance Park. Accredited by the American Rose Society as an All American Rose selection display garden, Point Defiance Park has more than an acre of rose gardens, the oldest of which was established in 1895. The site includes a garden of miniature roses, arbors of climbing roses, and a quaint gazebo encircled by fragrant rose bushes.

After walking through the garden and taking some great shots of the beautiful roses I selected a seat in the shade of the gazebo and painted this soft peachy colored rose named Summer Dream.

"Altissimo" is a very tall bright red rose that always catches my attention. This quick sketch catches this beauty as it appeared against the clear blue sky. Too bad this rose doesn't live in my own back yard so I could see the rest of those little bud open and bloom.

My selection for the afternoon was this stunning bouquet of  bright yellow orange roses named "About Face."
The variety of colors in this grouping was fun to paint and kept the painting interesting. The sun moved quicker than I could paint and visit with those passing by. As you can see the shadow of the gazebo started to block the sunshine and remind me that my time was running out.

About Face  Sketch by Susie Short

Day Two was a success. Ahh, I'm happy!
Tomorrow is another day...... to paint!