Spring Greens

Pond 2 - 6x6 oil on panel


Pond 1 - 6x6 oil on panel

This morning I thought I had better start with something "simple" to get back into the swing of things. This pond is in our neighborhood and I drive by it twice a day taking my daughter to preschool. Today I took my paint box and sat in my car (very windy out) and painted a view of it with its carpet of duck weed and the new greens just starting on some of the trees.

The FIRST painting shown is my second attempt (this will get confusing). After the first one, I thought I needed to squint more and see the big shapes. The first was too "nit picky" and was a little dull...a little too much the same values, which I always have trouble with outdoors!

When I looked back at my thumbnail sketch (below) too I realized I first saw it in terms of large dark and light masses balancing each other. And so I did it again, squinting dutifully to mass in the darks and avoid too many details. (We artists are all going to have dreadful crows-feet!)



Thoughts on "massing in" continued below....

If you are interested in either of the above paintings, email me. $100 each.