Niagara, again

Still fascinated by the massive curve of the Horseshoe Falls, these two paintings were created 3 weeks apart from 2 entirely different locations. I am amazed that the colors are so close, but the weather and light were almost the same.

The first is from a bridge at Three Sister's Islands. I used my 'eagle eyes' to see this from more than a half mile upriver, choosing just a piece of the falls, west of the area I often paint. It was a brilliant sunny day and the mist stayed low.

The second painting is from above Terrapin Point, close to Top of The Falls restaurant. I have painted near this same spot for 5 years now, and have noticed frequent changes in the flow of water, the size and number of islands, and the fact that the trees growing there are starting to block my view! It started as an overcast day, I worked on the sky as the clouds started to break up and it turned into solid sunlight, similar to the picture above. This was painted during the International Plein Air Paintout, September 9-11.
Curve from Three Sisters, oil, 12x24 2011
International Mist, oil 12x24, 2011