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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1. Pink Morning

The water was like a mirror this morning on the East River. Not a wave, not a ripple. I couldn’t see the separation between water and sky, save the tree line on the far shore.

I made this little painting from a friend’s dock on the east side of the East River facing south. In the far distance is the shores of Yorktown.

Similar to yesterday’s painting, I was wrapped up in subtle shades of blue. These today, yet more subtle and delicate than yesterday.

South by East, 9″ x 12″, oil on canvas  PURCHSE INFO>

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1. Facing East & Facing West

Clouds at Sunrise, 6″ x 8″, oil on canvas PURCHASE INFO>

It was blustery this morning. The clouds were looking like rain. I headed east where I could see a glimpse of light coming through them. This brought me to Haven Beach ~ one of the most easterly parts of the county. Since the wind was fairly stiff, I decided to use the van as a wind break. I made this 6 x 8 from the parking lot.

By the time I finished up, the clouds were moving off and the breeze had lightened up. I decided to go onto the beach to get away from the green head which had been biting at my ankles!  I was captivated by the way the water was reflecting sky blues, while it’s shadows were lavender and the sun was lighting the waves with warm light … an essay in blues.

I decided to frame my essay in blues with golden grasses on the beach, a dark jetty on the right and a shadowy land mass on the left. I didn’t have my usual toned canvas with me this morning. This time my canvas was white, so I began by washing it with gamsol thinned washes to get some tone down into the canvas.

The wind dried it quickly and I moved on to heavier paint. Like the previous study, I continued using my favorite 1″ sable brush. I try to use it as long as is humanly possible ~ to keep my hand loose. Once I had blocked in the clouds, I switched to palette knife and began working on the water and grasses.

When I was finally satisfied with the foreground and water, I went back to working the clouds again. This time with the palette knife, I added forward and backdrop colors. I went back with the 1″ sable brush and smoothed them out a bit. Then slowed down to get the details … a line of trees off on the far shore with the palette knife, a ridge of sand and some intense blades of sea grass with bright pink and golden yellow.

(above right) High Tide, oil on gallery wrap canvas, 16″ x 20″ PURCHASE INFO>

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