On this second day of painting class I resolved to get up extra early to get some exercise shots on the track and walk around “behind the scenes” to get some reference shots and ideas for paintings. Keeneland is wonderful because they really allow a lot of access to barns.

Of course, by arriving at 6:00 am I was too early to get anything except this kind of shot.

While this has an abstract beauty that may translate well into a future painting, I think you can see why I am thinking that this won’t work for a lot of camera space.

So, I hung out and concentrated on getting shots around the barns.

By the time it was light enough to get some good reference shots, the horses were no longer looking at me like this…

Cameras, tourists, and even artists are pretty common place around Keeneland. And NO one has any respect! For example, these two helpful souls decided to pose while I was trying to get a SERIOUS artist-y shot.

No respect. 🙂

As for painting, well, it was a light day for several reasons. The main reason is that the class elected to go on a series of field trips. We saw the AAEA Shades of Blue & Gray, The  Horse in the Civil War and then over to Georgetown to view the Fall Open Juried Exhibition and Sale. Those two items took up the whole afternoon.

Frankly, I was relieved because my paintings were going no where. I had done two value and composition sketches the night before and had come to “work” planning to work on a piece using these. Halfway through the morning, however, I switched to another piece.

The AAEA shows were AMAZING. I saw the work of my fellow class participants and a lot of other great artists. I also learned a lot about what the AAEA is looking for and their jurying process. A lot to think about there.

By the time we were done there, it was time to quit for the day, so I made my way back to base camp. On my way back I got behind this car.

I loved the top bumper sticker (I’m not sure what the other two are yet) and when it pulled into the knitting shot down the road that I posted about my first day, I knew it was destiny.

Small, cozy, a little wacky, and utterly charming!