Dan McGrath
On his last trip, Carl enjoyed meeting Dan McGrath, who is the president of Plein Aire Painters of the Bluegrass, a group of artists in central Kentucky which was founded in 2005. A "second career" artist, he has studied with a half dozen instructors, everything from portraits to animals as well as landscapes. Shown here are two 8x10 studies, Late in the Day (above) and Grey Day at the Creek (below).
He paints from reference photos as well as on location. Here are his comments about the benefits of painting on site, referring to his painting below: 
"This 8x10 Plein Aire was done on Jonabell Farm, Lexington, for a benefit auction for the Woodford County Humane Society. As usual, I ignored the horses, barns, etc. and went for the water (and the shade). I could have snapped photos and returned to the studio. Staying the course and painting plein aire, I realized, let me understand clearly which trees were in foreground, which farther back, where the reflections were coming from, see clearly the dappled sunlight, in short, to patiently study the scene. . "
At left is Leaving Hardin County (9x14). His blog can be found here
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