Old Cedars

Old Cedars, oil on gessoed board, 6x8"

I mentioned in a previous post that on one side of the cove I was painting on this day, there were thriving green cedars, and on the other there were worn out, last-leg cedars. This painting is of the latter. Despite their days being numbered and nature reclaiming them, they were the first colors of Fall I saw, and in the sunshine, they glowed!

Cove Jut

Cove Jut, oil on gessobord, 9x12"

So I had a few days in a row of painting en plein air which was so rewarding.  I got to be outside for entire days, and I got to paint for entire days, which I rarely get to do.  I went to a lake in Indiana, and because it was a Monday in September, I could have counted the people that I ran into on one hand.  Due to high water, some of the areas I would have sought out were closed.  I did find a small-craft launch, like kayak and canoe size, that had enough flat to set up my easel. The ramp had these little juts on each side of me, so I painted them both as the sun moved overhead.  They caught my eye because each was lined with cedar trees, one with living trees, the other with dead and brown trees. These are the living.