Bonus day
Posted: October 13, 2013 Filed under: Uncategorized 13 CommentsHaving a three-day weekend is a special gift because the extra day gives me time to paint and I used it to take to the road with Laurel and Marc Holmes. Marc and I packed up our paints and easels, Laurel her camera, and we took the ferry crossing from Hudson to Oka Park.
I’ve run into so many people this week who remark that each glorious day that we have in October is a bonus and I agree. When you live with five or six months of winter you have to take advantage of these days. Marc and I set up facing a swampy area of the park but I’m not sure quite why we chose this tangled mess of branches, leaves, pond scum and reflections to paint. The bird life in the park was lively — we spotted some sort of hawk, a heron, a pileated woodpecker and geese honked overhead for most of the day. If the weather continues like this into the week I may just have to get out my easel one more time!
Oh that is stunning, you have captured the moment for sure!
Thanks Angie. It was a stunner of a day. Hope you were out there too.
Just beautiful.
Thanks!
You are fabulous… an endless source of inspiration, really.
Thanks Jeanne. It was one of those days that will stay in my mind when the weather turns.
Shari – this one you knocked out of the park. WOW!
Thanks John!
I love the way that the sections of color give structure to the maze of plants, and then the arcs of the branches give a unique composition!
In Texas we hold every day of October precious too, for the opposite reason – we have to make it through five or six months of hot humid summer!
Thanks so much. Yes, I’m sure that in Texas you have other weather challenges but you probably don’t have to sketch in your car as much as I do. Or maybe you do — to get out of the heat!
Now, I bet that was difficult? Getting those branches to be differentiated from the background can’t have been easy. And, great reflections as always.
Thanks Ross! This was a difficult scene to paint. I started with one big wash over everything except those foreground branches which I left white. Then I went in with my darks on those branches, as well as painting the reflections. I tried not to overthink it since you can really go crazy on the details if you want to, but then I would have been there all day…
Fantastic…