Plein Air Day 2

It's been a very busy week. Three paintings in four days, I did choose smaller sizes to make it a bit easier to manage. Again, all I can say is the spontaneity and immediacy of the images were amazing. I enjoyed the fact that the image was so close to the actual inspiration. This first image is of the Big A cemetery in Rowlett-it's behind a Target and all I can say is that the peaceful presence takes you out of the busy roads of Rowlett.

I wanted to capture two things, first of all, the age-I went back where the oldest stones were. I wanted the viewer to be able to see into the distance freely and yet still not be able to focus on any one place-the perspective is across the right side and again behind the initial stones, I want the viewer to stop for a moment and feel a bit of that chill of an unseen presence and yet also realize a divine light that glistens among the old stones.

The next sketch was of a Koi Pond in a nearby residence, we had permission to paint it but I must admit I still felt like I was trespassing. I actually plan on enlarging this image as the initial image was focusing on the bird of paradise plants in the foreground but concentrating on dragonflies that buzzed around the pool and landed on the plants in the foreground, the size of this painting is quite small and although intimate the dragonflies would have been distracting to the overall effect. I do plan on expanding on this image though and will post the image as I finish.

The final painting was of a landscape I am quite familiar with, Lake Ray Hubbard and more specifically Paddle Point-this is another painting that changed from its initial direction. Originally I wanted to focus on the ducks and egrets in the foreground. I created this image with lots of darks in the foreground and the sky and felt although it made the like shine it didn't accurately capture the feeling of water and the look of the sky. I overlayed lighter blues over the darks and made the water look more like water, in the end the ducks seemed to be more of a distraction. It's funny how you lose your point of interest sometimes, something is working and you just go with it, it is not until you fully study it again before you realize it was all wrong. I am now continually questioning my initial thought on a particular piece and reassessing during the process instead of afterward.

The show will be at the Rowlett Library on Main Street in Rowlett, Texas-an awards ceremony will be held on Thursday September 5th and the pieces will stay on display for a week I believe. I am excited about working more plein air in the near future and already planning my next images. I didn't realize these images were so close to my home.