Tadpoles and Snails

This a painting I have been wanting to tackle for a while. A couple of years ago while plein air painting a group of young boys from a nearby camp came to play in the river to cool off. They were so full of joy and fun. It reminded me of my childhood when I would ride my bike down to the nearby pond to gather snails and tadpoles in a mason jar. The ditch along was filled with wild roses and in the early evening pheasants and dove scurried on the country road.

They were quite a distance off but my little point and shoot canon managed to capture the light and shapes of the boys. I have been pulling up the images every couple of months and thinking about how to begin this piece. After various composition changes I arrived at the one that seemed to pull the idea together. When I began painting it just flowed beautifully. The Adventurers  has been accepted into the Missouri Valley Impressionist Society 8th National Juried Competition and will be on view September 7 through October at the Albrecht-Kempner museum.