Thanksgiving week in Texas is perfect weather for outdoor work, in my case, it is perfect for outdoor painting. I used triple coats of clear gesso on a smooth board to keep its natural brown under color and lightly sketched the shapes. As I worked I realized the clouds were about to change, so the sky would be fairly clear in less than an hour. Although I was with my old French easel in full shade to work (play!) the fluctuations of sun and clouds on the landscape would make working accurately difficult. My scene kept changing.
I started with the sky and captured the clouds as fast as I could right down to my planned horizon. It worked, as they blew into the east and I gained the advantage of steady sunlight to complete the picture.
Located at the edge of a fairly dense community, this interesting scene provided me with a bit of variety and a joyful afternoon. I used a limited set of paints, a total of just 5 tubes. A standard Red, Yellow, Blue and a dark brown modified each other with White to create new colors. I probably have more natural and varied greens here than when I carry tubes of green. There is a lesson right there.
Long after my travel headed towards home, I realized my painting was left behind. I may see this again in a few months when I make a return visit.
Tanked, 12x16 oil
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