Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Friday, August 27, 2010
Noonmark Mountain
These are a series of oil sketches I painted rapidly, one after each other, to capture the fleeting color effects of light and weather as the day passed on Noonmark mountain. Each painting took about 30 min. As the light and clouds changed moment by moment I would pop another panel on the easel. It is truely exciting and challenging to observe and paint while the light and scenery is rapidly moving. You have to make split second decisions as to what stays and what goes, how to simplify, what to leave out, how to match color in minutes making choices without over thinking. It is a race with the light and you lose yourself in the landscape. oil on panels 8x10 to 8x8 in
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Painting Noonmark Mt
This summer my wife and I stayed at a B&B (Mountain Meadows) in Keene Valley where we painted right off the back porch. It made it so convienient to leave the easel in place and get right out and paint every day. It was mighty nice when it rained, too. I was told that Constable once defined Plein Air painting as "finding a comfortable place to sit under a tree and when the sun comes up paint what happens" I don't know if that is near to what he actually said but I like it. There is an old Irish folktale where the hero Fionn Macumhail asks his men "What is the greatest music in the world" and the answer is "The Sound of What Happens" Being present and seeing nature unfold and adapting to the constant changes in light, color, shadow is much more challenging than studio painting.
The Peninsula -Severn River
Here is a finished version, done on site , of my favorite spot on the Severn River. Oil on birch 12x25in.
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Sunday, August 15, 2010
Corscaden Barn Show 2010
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