Sun Spot in the Mountain Storm 8x10 Oil
I painted this on a snowy day last January when I was wishing for a bit of sun. It's from a photo I took near Salida, Colorado, when I was down there for the plein air festival. It was late in the day, and everything was so dark it was almost difficult to see where the mountains ended and the sky began. Then this ray of sunlight snaked it's way down through the clouds and bounced off the field and aspens trees. It was definitely one of mother nature's quick moments of spectacular beauty, and I was thrilled to have my camera handy.
When I started to paint this I was using soft brushes. I wasn't happy with the way it was turning out, so I switched over to the palette knife and reworked everything. Somehow using the palette knife helped me to let go of trying to replicate what I had seen and concentrate more on trying to recreate what I had felt. So, in addition to my last post about using new colors, sometimes it's a good idea let go of the brushes, pull out the palette knife and just play.
This painting, along with four others, will be in the Abend Gallery Holiday Miniature show in Denver, Colorado. The show starts on December 3 with a reception from 5-9. I'll also be painting a demo in the gallery on Saturday, December 4th from 10-4. Hope to see you there!
