Sunsets and Coffee Cups

Well, here are two pictures painted with low autumn evening light. One took me 5 sessions and about 15 hours, the other only 2 sessions and about 6 hours. Can you guess which is which?

"Sunset, Willows Beach" 14 X 18" Really Fresh Oil on Canvas.
I started this last night, and finished it today, so no overpainting. I am happy that I am becoming more comfortable with my 3-colour system and finding myself more and more able to handle grays and rich dark areas. 10 years ago I would have never taken this on. I like this little peice. Sometimes, instead of getting all uptight over a larger, carefully planned canvas, I get the best results by just getting in there and slapping it on! I may not retouch this one, even if it needs it.


"Mt. Doug from Hillside". 16 X 20" Oil on Canvas, natch.
I like the intensity in this baby. Like a long blues riff in colour. I did listen to a lot of blues painting this one. I got the light down, and it has a feeling of air. The structure is great, and kinda Cezannesque. I resist atmospheric perspective, but do create a bit of depth through overlapping planes and intersecting horizontal and verticle lines, as in Cezanne. I love the painterlyness of this one and the sometimes illogical bits, like the tree in the forground. Particularily like the bits on the far left. Colour nuances, dry overpainting, vibrations. The horizontal line is a powerline, not a shoreline, as it may look. I did add that little green tree to offset this impression a bit.

Most of all, I like the abstract quality of this peice, and the sheer joy of painting this one (although the final touches were nerve-wracking). It is painted over an underdrawing of a still-life that I bailed on. You can see some of the lines still in the yellow poplar trees. If you have a good monitor, you will be able to see the true intensity of these colours. Or, better yet, come over some time.


"Small Single Americano" Pencil on Paper.
It was cold by the time I got around to drinking it :)

Be kind to other people.
C