Lynn M. Rix

I hiked out to the Nature Preserve with my painting buddy with the idea of capturing a sunset.  Very windy !   My first attempt was scraped. Then this occurred and I quickly painted this little canvas as the sun went down.  Very fun !

Set up along the riverbank in hopes that I wouldn't slip in or that my gear wouldn't blow in.  Such a picturesque scene with the snowy banks , shadows and open water :  I couldn't resist.  I had a wonderful time and everything stayed upright !

This barn just begged me to paint it before it is gone.  I was told by a passing neighbor that the owner recently died and his house and barn are slated to be demolished. Most likely another subdivision to go in.  Who is left to farm ? 

A drizzly grey day.  Set up under cover of a garage to paint this beautiful white barn, the hills of Southwest Wisconsin, and the colorful zinnias. This farmstead has been in my friend's family for 5 generations. Last year they had to sell off their dairy herd and have now gone to crop and beef cattle. A very sad decision but as the vibrant zinnias show, this family is resilient ! 

Our fall was very disappointing for me as far as fall colors were concerned.  I finally got out the Saturday after Thanksgiving.  Trees have lost their leaves without ever turning color, but the marsh grasses and the red barn were vibrant. Now I am hoping for snow.

Children running, jumping and completely embracing the joy of the sun, sand of sea while getting to know their second cousins. What could be more indicative of the human spirit. Gives me hope for the future.

My first painting of Spring 2019 , not counting the snow storm last week !!   I love it when my forsythia bushes burst forth in their yellow blossoms.  I true harbinger that the weather will be getting warmer.  Sunny , fresh days ahead !!

In the summer, I love going out in my little 13 ‘ boat to paint the old boathouses and homes on the lake on which I grew up. So many memories flood back to me while I paint. This painting was a quick study from my boat and then finished up in the studio. .... No lights on my boat so I had to head in before the DNR caught me.

One of my favorite places to paint is on Spring vacation in Florida.  I love the water, sand and the fact that the people love being outside as much as I do.  Kids making sand castles. giggling and loving life . This painting was created from photos and memories as we didn't get to go on Spring Break this year.

My gift to myself was to paint on Mother's Day 2019 before going to dinner with my family.  Lucky for me it was a beautiful sunny day . I had to tuck my easel out of the wind but found a lovely scene with trees to block the big gusts.  Such a joyous time of year .

I painted this larger painting in my studio from a plein air piece called " Field Trip"  It was such a fun plein air painting to paint that I just needed to do it again in a larger format...... dreaming of a winter like we had a few years ago.

These blooming trees have called to me every Spring with their vibrant color.  This was finally my year to capture them before they quickly fade.  A happy way to start the Spring season of rebirth and joy.

Spring of 2020 has been unusual in many ways.  Isolated, lots of cold grey days, emotions are hard to keep positive. But this scene uplifted my spirits immediately.  Sunlight playing on the red barn, white silo and my favorite flower, the joyous daffodil.  So simple and yet it made me so happy.  Nature and man are resilient.

A fun summer's late afternoon painting with two friends.  When we saw this gravel path leading up through a meadow of Queen Anne's Lace we all remarked together... " wonder where it goes ?"   We had to walk it and then paint it ! 

Painting en plein air on a sunny snow-covered day, is high on my list of fun. This farmstead once included a large dairy barn, a smaller barn, a chicken coop, and a house. Now, the large dairy barn is used for a construction company’s storage , the small barn is used by as a garage for a landscape company and the chicken coop collapsed under the weight of this year’s snow. The house is long gone, along with the family who built it and worked it. I set up my easel between the small barn and large dairy barn, looking at the remains of the chicken coop. As I painted, I paid homage to the vanishing lifestyle of those men and women and children who planted the fields, fed and milked the cows and helped to make my home state prosperous. It saddens me to see the family farming industry vanish.

My first Spring 2020 Plein Air painting.  I have been under the "stay at home" order since March 13 , the weather has been basically grey and brown which matched my mood.   No inspirations for me.  And then, on one of my daily walks I took a route I hadn't been on for a couple months.  When I saw this scene, I had "that feeling"  !  I was so happy that I finally wanted to paint something.  Headed back two days later to catch the afternoon sun on this wonderful red barn built into a hill , unusual white wooden silo and thousands of sunny daffodils in bloom.  My heart was singing for the few hours I painted.

When I see an old barn in snow,  I am often inspired to paint it.  We are losing farms and barns at an alarming rate and I am drawn to get them down on canvas before they are all gone.  This one was sitting so simply and stately on a knoll overlooking the Sugar River. The sun peeked out just enough to give the cold snowy scene a warm glow. Stark and majestic in its simplicity.

Painted in Door County Wisconsin.  A very windy day along Lake Michigan. It was the week-end before Labor Day and all was quiet.  No boats were setting sail today, I had the beach to myself. 

Headed up to Northern Wisconsin to find snow with two other artists.   We couldn't resist this beautiful scene: snowy bank, open river, little red cottage in the distance.  Out of the wind and warm. I love Wisconsin winters when we have snow and I can bundle up and paint the beauty.

The corn field resting in winter , the sun peeking out of the clouds,  the snow covered terrain.  So peaceful and yet so full of movement.