Yesterday on The Hoosick River

Hot & sunny with big puffy clouds, 90 F

I got an early start (for me) and was set up at about 9:30,  I had painted here in the winter, and like the Skellie Rd. painting, I would have had a hard time finding this spot if I hadn't been there before. Ah, but there was shade and it was cool off the water, at least when I started.

This is about 40 minutes or so into it, and as you can see I have the surface covered. The reflection was the hardest part of this painting, there was a welcomed slight breeze, but it kept changing the water surface I never got a handle on exactly what the water was doing. All the rivers are full to capacity with all the recent rain and the water looks very muddy, I like this (kinda).

This is about 1/2 way through the painting session, I kept on telling myself to focus on the next glaringly wrong item to fix, I can find myself putting in detail where it has no meaning, and it has no meaning when I'm not looking at the whole painting and seeing the whole subject and responding to that.

Here it is when I wrapped it up, It was close to 12:30, the sun had changed a lot, which darkened my subject's shadows, but put me in the sun.  I put some dark notes in the water's reflection, because they were there and the painting needed it. I also want to point out that I tilted the shore line, the reality was that the line was very strait and horizontal, and I didn't want it like that.  I had the dead strait horizontal line on the green field, and that was enough.  I also spent some time on the light holes in the trees, I'm thinking that's important now.

This is the spot,  looks like a teenage hang out, complete with fire pit and empty beer cans,  I picked up a bunch of trash and recyclables: my contribution for the days use!  I'm glad to know there are places like this for the youth to enjoy, a place that adults don't organize the life out of. Paint On!