Art Journal

In this painting I was interested in those curvy vents snaking across that roof. It just amazes me how many things are put on commercial roofs, the quantity and variety of vents and AC units and whatever else those boxy things are that get installed on roofs. These boxes and vents make wonderful subjects for lighting studies, much like a lit cube used for still life studies. You can find highlights,  shadows, reflected light, halftones, just about everything. And since they are basically monochromatic they are a good subject for color studies.

Rooftop #7

Here's the second painting from the trip to Pella. In this one I used the limited palette paint I still had on my palette from the first painting but added a few more colors, ultramarine blue and lemon yellow and a touch of alizarin.

Quiet Season, 9 x 12

We've had a couple cold days and a little snow, so most of the fall color has washed out before it reached its peak.

Here's from a morning spent at Pella Crossing. I did two paintings. The first one I did with a limited palette, black, white, Venetian Red and Naples Yellow  (sounds like an Italian palette) which was a palette used in a demo by Scott Christensen that I thought I'd try.

This is the first painting.

Autumn Fields, 9 x 12

I used to get up early and go out to paint at sunrise when I was still working. It was one of the few times I had available to do some plein air. Now since I am not working I've kind of gotten out of the habit of those early morning trips, and it's much more tempting to sleep in. However with this warmer fall  weather we've been having, getting up to paint has been relatively easier, and so I went out again to catch the sunrise over Union Reservoir.  Here's the result of that trip.  Once I'm out there I'm always glad I went.

Union Sunrise, 8 x 10

This was one of those days when evening came with a perfectly clear sky.  The day before had produced a spectacular sky and a wonderful sunset so I had high hopes. No such luck. I went out anyway and painted at Hamms Pond.

Here's the painting from this trip out.

Cloudless Sunset, 8 x 10