Mossy Pond

Mossy Pond, 2009, oil on linen, 10 x 8 inches

I'm very happy with this week's plein air painting. When I arrived on location yesterday morning I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to pull off the view I had chosen. As I started laying color I kept thinking this was going to be a failure. I've had a good run so far as a first time plein air painter and I thought my lucky streak would end with this painting. But as time went by the painting kept improving. I'm beginning to feel more comfortable painting outside. Aside from children running like mad little devils, Central Park is such a peaceful place to be in. With each session I keep adding more chroma to my palette. I've been trying to stick to the earth tone palette but slowly I've been adding Viridian, Sap Green, Nickel Yellow, and Ultramarine Blue. Yesterday I began to make more use of these colors, and towards the very end I dropped a few accents here and there with a mixture of Cadmium Yellow, Nickel Yellow, and Sap Green. Next week I will be taking a break from painting. Robert wants me to work on drawing trees, to learn about their "anatomy." This should be fun, I haven't made a drawing in ages and I have been missing it. Next week I'll get to see how rusty I've gotten, or who knows, maybe the other way around.