Randy's Roadhouse Bar-B-Cue in the Irish Hills Old Pickup

We saw this rustic truck on Route 12 when we were headed back to the lake house on Thursday and decided to return and paint it the next day. Randy allowed us to set up our easels in the shade of a large maple tree. There were three of us painting today and we all focused on the truck and we all came up with very different paintings. My painting was all about the truck. I really worked hard on minimizing the importance of the painted pig on top of the truck but I couldn't remove it. It adds a lot of character to the scene and the sign supports the reason it is there. The grass was actually mowed and weeded right up to the truck tires but I added a few weeds to give it character.

Randy told us that his family used to own the Wild West attraction on Route 12 but they sold it a few years ago. Apparently Route 12 was a major tourist attraction in the 50's and early 60's, with Mystery Hill, a Dinosaur Adventure, a Go-Cart track and more. Now this area has become known for its picturesque lakes and rolling hills. The tourist traps remain but they are in a sad state of disrepair.

Randy's Roadhouse Barbecue

9" x 12"

Hammond Bay, on Lake Huron plein air

Wednesday we drove to Lake Huron, a short ten minute drive from our cabins. We were thinking about painting the closest lighthouse but when we arrived at the park no one wanted to paint it. The lighthouse was a smaller, square kind and not too interesting. It was also really windy and the best view of the lighthouse  was down on the beach. I did not want to be on the beach with no protection from the sun. It was really too windy for an umbrella.

I did like the arrangement of fir trees in front of the beach so I painted that and I was pretty happy with the piece when I was done. Quite a few visitors stopped to chat and one couple remarked that the turquoise water and whitecaps reminded them of the Fort Lauderdale beaches near their home in Florida. Instead of palms the beach here was lined with evergreens and I'm sure the temperature was a bit cooler too.

11" x 14" oil on canvas

Hammond Bay