![plein air sketching](http://robynmillar.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/plein-air-sketching1-e1507930441476.jpg)
At the end of the summer this year I got to spend a few days with family in BC. While there I squeezed in some plein air painting (aka outdoor painting) with my mom, and my sister caught a pic of me sketching in action (above).
![firewood sketch](http://robynmillar.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/firewood-sketch1-e1507930503591.jpg)
There was just something about the colours of that firewood pile and the angle of the sun creating cool shadows on it that caught my eye – I couldn’t help but sketch it! I made the drawing first in pen, then went over it with watercolours mixed on the spot.
![paynes gray landscape](http://robynmillar.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/paynes-gray-landscape1-e1507930540899.jpg)
The wildfires were in full force throughout the province at the time and the smoke was abundant, but it didn’t stop the beautiful views. For this quick sketch I enjoyed simply using a Winsor & Newton watercolour marker in Payne’s Grey – one of my favourite colours to use for mountains scenes.
When I got back to Calgary I was inspired to make a Kootenay Lake themed watercolour kit, pulling colours from where my mom and I were sketching. I sent it off with a little hand made watercolour palette for her birthday, for her further plein air adventures (& hopefully more with me to come as well)
![IMG_2485](http://robynmillar.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/IMG_24851-e1507930715379.jpg)
Though I was really enjoying painting in real time on the trip, I also snapped some Instax pix with the intention to paint from them back in my studio some day (well maybe not the feet pic lol) :
![instax on lake](http://robynmillar.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/FullSizeRender-301-e1507930775807.jpg)
A short but sweet trip <3