today is the first in a series of pleine air paintings i'll be doing at n. crestone creek. generally, i start making these paintings as soon as it's warm enough each spring, and continue into about november, when it starts getting too cold to paint outdoors.
i've been anxious to see how the larger studio paintings would influence the outdoor work, which is always executed in one sitting. the great thing about painting outdoors at the creek is that there's no time for my mind to get involved. the sun is constantly changing, the wind may be blowing (today it blew the paining right over & onto my palette) and the rushing creek, wild & swollen with snow melt at this time of year, demands my full attention. all my senses are engaged.
what i see from todays first foray is that the sweeping gestures that have become part of my work on the larger canvases have translated into an even greater freedom and economy of strokes than in the previous group of pleine air paintings, the last of which was painted on nov. 8, 2012.
5/19/13 n. crestone creek 16x16"
oil on linen