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| Summer at Daniels Area, oils on canvas panel, 12" x 9." |
It was one of those rare summer mornings, unusual for the DC area--cool and with the air so clear it felt more like early fall, or perhaps Canada. The Howard County Plein Air group was painting at the Daniels Area of Patapsco Valley State Park, a favorite site of mine.
Deborah Maklowski was already set up and sketching when I arrived, and there were a bunch of young women putting out canoes on the river. A canoe transport trailer and cars took up all the room in the parking lot, so I pulled up by the side of the road to park. The girls were from Baltimore's inner city on a special job corps program, and most of them looked as if they'd never been on a canoe before. Eventually, they and their leaders launched off on their trip and things quieted down some, although people came by all morning to launch kayaks, canoes, and even one inflatable boat. It was a great day to be on the water.
I wanted to get as close to the water as possible, but it was hard to find a spot out of the traffic. I managed to set up my easel on the slope of the bank under the thick shade, adjusting the tripod for the steep slope, and sketched out my composition.
I usually start my painting with the sky to establish the light, but today I started with the tree overhanging the water, going in really dark, then painting the areas around it, adjusting the colors against it. I think the approach worked in general, but I would have liked to get better modeling of the tree itself. I should have tried for more variation between the color of branches closer to the viewer and those farther away, to give the tree a more three-dimensional effect. As I strive to do better with each painting, every time I achieve one thing I see other missed opportunities. When does one finally--if ever--manage to get it all down?
