The Iris Farm on M-72

Muchacho Libre is my assistant this week “On the Michigan Wine Trail.” Well, not so much my assistant as the one who gets sand in my paint, but he’s cute, so he can stay.

Muchacho the great assistant — err, maybe just a really solid playmate.

Thinking of his needs, I started the day with a hike in my beloved Pyramid Point. I hiked in with some watercolors and my sketchbook, stopping along the way to take in the beauty and make little studies for use in the studio later. Muchacho, for his part, was in his glory.

Pyramid Point

It was a joy to just pull off to the side of the road when something struck me and make sketches so I can jar my memory later.

Sketching the Leelanau Narrows

But the ultimate joy in working on location is to pull up to a stunning sight, haul out the paints and plant yourself for a spell — and that is exactly what I did at the Iris Farm on M-72. A friend tipped me off to this glorious spot, and I spent several hours on a what turned out to be a gorgeous day, painting from my immediate impressions of what stretched before me.

Another treasured day on my magic peninsula, right here in Pure Michigan!