July 31, 2010  7:30 am
East River, Mathews County, VA

I began the day with this thumbnail painting. I had brought a 36″ square canvas with me which has been talking to me for weeks. I knew it wanted trees and a distant water source. So when a friend invited me out to paint, I grabbed it along with a few smaller canvases and headed out.

The thumbnail painting is 6″ x 6″, just the right size for getting the essence of my thoughts focused.  I worked it quickly, so as not to get hung up with too much detail or changing light. When done, I put the 36″ canvas up on the easel and stepped back to consider the possibilities once again.

This time I slowed down quite a bit. I spent a good bit of time chatting with my friend, not something I normally do when painting! Her invitation had redirected my attention from some heavy duty chores around the house. So I was here to enjoy the day.

A large canvas like this doesn’t fit on my plein air easel, so I brought along a light weight studio easel too. And a 36″ canvas is  a lot of real estate to cover on site. I plodded along, painting and talking most of the morning.

We took a lunch break. When I got back to the easel, the light of course had changed dramatically. Rather than packing up as I had planned though, I found myself shifting gears and changing my approach.

I grabbed the palette knife and developed the foreground. My colors became bolder. I cut shadows into the trees and details along the shore line. Finally, I stepped back and added the contrasting pink in the sky.

Top: Riverside, oil on canvas, 6″ x 6″, PURCHASE INFO>

Bottom: Sisters in the Pink, oil on canvas, 36″ x 36″, INQUIRE about this painting>

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