Sunset No.23

2/29/12
A fully loaded pallet with the most colors yet for a sunset. A very nice and clear day, always hard to decide which moment will be the right moment to start the painting. I thought the silver or golden lining was cool so I started before it disappeared, problem is too much time spent in one are and then boom! everything changes and you still haven't painted any other areas of the canvas, leaving you to remember what it looked like, and that is hard to do....bottom line you have to be super fast and super accurate, a super painter. 

Sunset No.22

2/27/12
Very overcast and slightly rainy, I set up my easel and attached an umbrella. The dreary light seemed to bring out colors I had not seen before like the burnt color along the shoreline. Kind of hard to notice in the photo but I let the sky remain as the primed panel without any paint. With overcast days I get to focus allot more on the details of the landscape like the scraggly trees on either side of the two main trees. On non overcast days I have to paint allot faster because the light changes so fast effecting the whole scene. Added a new color to my pallet "Prussian Blue"

Sunset No.21

2/24/12
It was another lack luster sunset kinda day..quiet overcast, rainy , & windy. Great day for a cup of tea! 

Sunset No.20

2/22/12
It was raining and very cloudy and grey with no sign of the sun. I tried to capture the overall grey color of the scene before it became to dark to see my canvas (I had forgotten to pack my portable light). I painted the sky first because it was the most interesting thing to me, and I subdued the houses behind the two trees into a dark grey mass. I thought it was cool how the sky lightened slightly at the bottom where it meets with the landscape. *Note to self* Remember to bring mosquito repellent!

Sunset No.19

2/20/12
Trying to capture the illusive effect of the burning sun's optical effects upon its surrounding clouds is tough.  I once again left the painting mostly unfinished partly due to the fact that I am trying to concentrate more accurately on certain colors and effects so the rest of the painting doesn't really matter to me.  Plus I kind of enjoy this look.

Sunset No.18

2/17/12
Another overcast day, not much of a sunset. The only sign of color was a small light orange bit of light that kept re-emerging from between the clouds. I focused more this time on the landscape adding the four scraggly leafless trees that I have left out thus far. Also some ducks streaked across the water so I painted them in to add some depth in the water/foreground

Sunset No.17

2/15/12
Another very cloudy overcast day, but there was a nice opening  to the left that added an interesting addition of color. This one was painted with the new additions of Manganese Violet and Aerolin yellow. Also I was finally able to capture a few ripples in the water that were kinda cool. Maybe soon I will be fast enough to start to add some of the old leafless trees on the bank of the pond. 

Sunset No.16

2/13/12
Arriving very early, I had to wait almost an hour until I could paint because the sun was uncovered in the sky. I decided to capture the sunset at the point where it is almost gone. The sky was unchanged for long enough but the sun itself came and went so fast it was nearly impossible to capture.

Sunset No.15

2/10/12
It was overcast and cloudy all day, and by sunset time it was nearly pitch black.  I hurried to set up as the rain started to come down on me and my paint. I had an umbrella made for painting so I was ok as soon as I got it hooked up, and I also had with me a nice natural daylight portable light that I attached to one of the prongs on the underside of the umbrella. I was well covered and well lit as I started my sunset using a few welcome new colors (Alizarin and Manganese Violet)

Sunset No.14

2/8/12
I decided to set up and paint right away instead of waiting for the sun to go lower behind the trees. Also I moved farther to the left about 20 feet from where I have usually been setting up. Still using the new five colors of blue green, red, deep red, cad yellow, lemon yellow, white.

Sunset No.13

2/6/12
I started at 5:45 and was sure the sun had already went down behind the trees especially judging by the way things looked. Imagine my surprise when all of the sudden the sun popped out from underneath the dark clouds above blinding me an creating an interesting optical effect by illuminating everything with an amazing glow. At the point when the sun came into full view instead of altering the entire painting I instead just added some color variation in the trees to hint at the optical effect. So it's kind of a strange painting it is showing two points in time.

Sunset No.12

2/4/12
The sun seems to be setting farther to the right. A very overcast and cloudy grey day made for an interesting glow in the right hand portion of the sky.

Sunset No.11

2/1/12
This was an interesting one to paint but not quite as interesting as what happened before the painting....
Let me explain, the day before this day (Wed the 1st) I had learned that a great sculptor and portrait painter named Ed Jonas was going to be giving a portrait demonstration and that he lived about four houses down from me. Shocked and excited, I couldn't wait to meet the master painter (co founder of the Portrait Society of America) wow!

Well, today I got to sit in on the demo. I had one huge problem though, the demo was taking place from about 330-7 and you know what that means right? I would miss my sunset at 530...

So what did I do? Well I went to the demo and sat in on the first half, I met the artist and then had to make the very difficult decision to leave or stay and miss my sunset. As you can see I left and let go of an opportunity to not only learn a great deal but also to make a great connection. You see this was my first real test, my first temptation to not paint my sunset, to not stay with my commitment, to open the door to excuses, that's not me. I'm not going to listen to the negativity and adversity and believe that my idea is crap. I believe in my idea and I believe I have made the right choice to follow this vision. I will commit to this rain or shine, and for better or worse.

Oh, please enjoy sunset No.11

Thanks for your support!