Backyard Plein Air

"Backyard Plein Air"
oil on masonite, 9" x 13"


Life is just too crowded with demands and requirements to allow time to wander off and find a terrific paint site on a frequent basis. So, that is why I paint still life paintings. The box of stuff is right there . . .always available . . .always ready . . . always convenient . . .and expedient. But my heart is with developing my skills outside.


In the first five years of learning watercolor painting, I went outside every Friday to paint. The learning about light and shadow could not have been better. The demands of getting the light and shadow captured before it moved was an incredible habit to acquire. But practice is what makes us really good at what we do.


So, I stuck my head out the studio door and set about making this piece . . .right in my back yard . . . .wellll . . .not quite IN, but certainly within sight. I look at these guys every single morning; the negative shapes, the warm golden light at sun up, the shadows, the textures, the shapes and the ever changing moods. There are days when they dissappear into the fog, or are blasted with heat and light. The dappled light on them is fascinating to look at. I find myself painting them in my head almost daily. So, it was time I did it!


Employing a temperature shift from warm at the bottom to cool at the top, I hoped to establish a sense of soaring height. Somehow the temeratures in this piece and the textures hasten my pulse a bit. I actually like this one.

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