9"x 12" oil...view from Blackwell Bridge Plein Air

A bit chilly this afternoon...with my fingerless wool gloves,
but the light was inviting. Most lakes here in northern
Wisconsin are still froze over, 14" yet in thickness. Many
fields now free from snow, but areas of shadow still finds
the white stuff stubbornly hanging on.

After so many years painting...there is a part of you that
takes a backseat and just watches. Part of you sees the
finished painting before you begin...the other part is along
for the ride and finds it entertaining to see how it will
come together. One part has its moments of doubts, the
other part of the psyche assures its okay to chill, never
fear..."we've been here before, and its progressing just
fine!"

When teaching...there are deliberate directions or paths
one may prescribe for students...but experience's aim as
Edgar Payne tells us is to have a foundation of principles
so ingrained that the gut hunch is free to fly.

So...I listened when that inner voice said, "let's try some-
thing a little different. A grayish darker olive green
undertone" that came from sensing the color in the shadows,
which then would initiate freely the placement of where the
light was playing upon the shoreline of tag alders and dead
wintry grasses that will soon come to life-

Here was my reference...















my palette with color/value mixed up, plenty of copal
medium...and with turps ready to attack the panel-















the panel after brushing this colored/tone over the surface-

















and...the initial strokes went straight away for the light
dancing among the dead winter grasses, parts of the
snow...etc.,
















My first inclination or interest was to consider the scene on
the southwestern side of the bridge...
















Overall...it was a very pleasant afternoon, and then, I went
off to the studio to work on recording my last song "Where
the Grasses Turn Green" for my CD- Wilderness
Wanderings!
If you have a moment, check it out.