First plein air paintings of 2012

I promised myself I would do a lot more painting on location this year. It felt great getting out today even though it was 38 degrees and a little windy out by the lake when I started. I was glad I brought extra clothing because I ended up needing it later on.

When I started at 8:30 this morning it was overcast but the sun was trying to show. As I looked out over the lake I thought  what a dull colorless scene. I started to walk back to the car to find something else but I stopped and gave it another look. I forced myself to find one thing I liked about the scene no matter how small.
 I liked the area of water in the foreground, you could see the slight blue/grey of the sky reflected there and the contrast of the brown leaves right in front of it.  OK I found a center of interest and then I  built the rest of the painting around that.

I never realized how cold I was till I finished the painting. Your concentration is so focused you are not aware of the cold. One improvement in my equipment are fingerless gloves. The tips are cut off making it easier to handle brushes, palette knives without having to remove the gloves every time you want to do something. I spent about one and a half hours on this painting standing in one place with the wind blowing on me.

On a side note, as I was approaching the lake I failed to notice the two bald eagles up in the tree. A quieter approach might have given me a better look before they flew off.

Edge of the Lake  8x10 oil