Had a great time painting with Verde Artist Guild on Sunday.  Great group of artist’s showed up.  And wow, what a great day. I started early–about 7:30AM–and the light was so perfect.  Hollywood film director’s call it “golden light“, when the light is lowest on the horizon, in the early morning or late evening. The color of the light is so striking.

So, as I said, started my painting of a Eucalyptus early. As artists starting arriving, as the host, I thought it important to be social and say hello to everyone. Glad I did, but by the time I returned to my painting, it was really striking how the color of the light had changed–from a warm orange to a flat, grey-ish blue.  Undeterred, I finished the painting’s color harmony from memory, and from what I’d done so far.

I’m particularly happy with this small passage.  As you can probably see, my work is loosening up. I’m trying to see as the great American Impressionist Charles Hawthorne advised, whereby you don’t see “things” you see shapes of color.  To get this effect, I’m painting without my glasses most of the time.  I see my canvas just fine, but the subject in the distance is blurred.  I’m near-sighted, and would never consider lasix eye surgery now.  It’s too great an asset to take my glasses off and see in the abstract.

Don’t you just love the way abstract bits form the final image, below?  I haven’t decided whether this painting is done yet.  It’s sitting in my office at Wells Fargo (where I’m working on a contract basis for a few months to save up 😉  I think I may add some fallen branches to the grassy area at the bottom, as I feel the tree comes out of the ground a little to strongly, seems isolated to me.