New Plein Air: East River

East River, 2011, oil on linen, 8 x 13 inches

We are lucky that so far this fall has felt more like spring, I am not complaining at all about the warm weather, as a matter of fact I wish our winters were this warm, that way I could get to go out and paint all year round! I know this beautiful weather won't last long, and so I made it a point to do one more plein air by the East River, turns out it was pretty cold and windy soon as I got next to the water, but I tough it out and painted as much as I could on site. The light was fading, it got more windy, and the group of old Greek men that congregated around me made it difficult to finish the painting in one shot. Back in the studio I added the two bridges and finessed the sky a little more, all this was easy to do since all the colors and light effects were done from life.