16.  Original Plein Air Drawing, "Plein Air, Cormorants at Doc's, 7.9.24”, ink, 9 x 12”, 2024

Location: Oxford, MD

Event: Plein Air Easton

Event Awards: Grand Prize, Quick Draw; Auto-invite for Plein Air Easton 2025

This drawing, made from life of cormorants drying out behind Doc’s Sunset Grille in Oxford, MD, was the first piece of art I made during Event #2 of Art Tour 2024: Plein Air Easton. I had arrived for the world’s most prestigious / coveted plein air painting competition a few days early to give myself time to get to know some of the places I’d be painting. This strategy paid off and began the experience from a place of relaxation and enjoyment. I know for my art that I make the best work when I’ve become familiar with a subject - so to have the time and space to observe cormorants at rest was lovely. All the birds in this drawing were still for the duration of my time drawing them, about 45 minutes to an hour. I had intended only for a quick sketch of the center bird, but the other three weren’t moving either, so I filled in the page, “wall-to-wall”, meaning all four sides are included in the framing of the view.