A few months in I discovered a plein air subject with few equals - the rising sun!! It would be a major influence on me going forward. I already spent a great deal of time painting the James Rivers intercity rapids.
Taming the River
#29 James River Rapids 8x10 (first one) oil on canvas panel completed en Plein Air 5/7/2009
#31 James River Rapids 11x14 oil on canvas panel Completed en Plein Air 5/8/2009
#36 James at Belle Isle 8x10 oil on linen panel completed en Plein Air 5/13/2009
#179 James River from Belle Isle 18x24 Oil on linen panel completed Alla prima 11/30/2009
By the end of the first year the combination of many en Plein Air studies of the James River, the suns first and last 15 minutes along with many studio paintings resulted in more finished paintings like #179 James River from Belle Isle.
The sun was another story - difficult to photograph and only minutes between dramatic changes.
I had a great sunrise most mornings out my studio window over looking an old farmers field. Very difficult to describe, but fair to say it was stunning and had to be painted. My favorite is when we get a morning fog or due, then everything glows. Those seem to happen frequently between May and June when the the nights are still cool, days are hot and we get late afternoon showers. My fist attempt #45 was a disaster! However I did get a grasp of how fast it moved. The sun has 3-basic colour changes, hot coral, yellow/gold (heat) and finally a lush cream before it settles to the normal blinding light we need sun glasses for. The series was called15-minute sunrise. Below is a sampling of both the en Plein Air and studio paintings resulting resulting from the series.
The Sun and 15-minutes
#45 15-Minute sunrise (first one) 8x10 oil on canvas panel completed en Plein Air 5/23/2009
Note: this is the 3rd lush cream stage - I was chasing the sun with a late start.
Note: this is the 3rd lush cream stage - I was chasing the sun with a late start.
#54 15-Minute Sunrise 8x10 oil on canvas panel completed en Plein Air 5/30/2009
#76 15-Minute Sunrise 8x10 Oil on canvas panel competed en Plein Air 6/23/2009 6:30am
#78 Randall Sunrise 11x14 oil on canvas panel completed Alla prima 6/23/2009 (from study)
#82 15-Minute Sunrise 8x10 oil on canvas panel completed en Plein Air 6/25/2009
#88 15-Minute Sunrise 8x10 oil on canvas panel completed en Plein Air 6/28/2009
#107 15-Minute Sunrise 8x10 Oil on canvas panel completed en Plein Air 7/12/2009
#132 15-Minute Sunset (Libby Terrace) 8x10 oil on canvas panel completed en Plein Air 8/8/2009
#182 Belle Isle Quarry - Last Light 16x20 oil on linen panel completed Alla prima 12/7/2009
Winter Sun
#190 15-Minute Sunrise 8x10 Oil on linen panel completed en Plein Air 12/22/2009
#192 15-Minute Sunrise 8x10 oil on linen panel completed en Plein Air 12/23/2009
#197 December Dawn 16x20 oil on linen panel completed 12/29/2009
At years end I was comfortable with the sun and frequently use an actual sunrise for my studio painting - after all it's right outside my studio window!
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