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This week I uploaded a painting that was done during sunset on location at St Augustine Beach. It's very expressive and imagined. Plein Air painting is about inspiration for me, and not always about duplicating the scene precise This is the case for me with sun ups and downs. The sky changes so dramatically and fast at this time of day and the best way for me to express the drama is to react to it. The sky colors, the cloud formations, and the composition  are all changing so fast I sometimes don’t have time to take a picture of what I’m seeing. The colors are Magenta, Teal /turquoise and Nickel Azo yellow (an orange yellow)  . Everything is pretty close to the actual color (on my screen ) except the big middle distance orange/red shape.  The real color is  not orange but darker and more red. It was done during sunset on location at St Augustine Beach but it's very expressive and imagined. Plein Air painting is often about inspiration for me, and not always about duplicating the scene exactly. When working with acrylic I like to work with lots of water and let the paint flow and grow as I watch and push the paint around. It's a technique I used in watercolors a lot.  Painting outside is fun and challenging. Painting from photos is better for capturing and freezing a particular moment of light and shadow. I find that one of the hardest parts of location painting. The shadow shapes change constantly.

 

Magenta Sky, 9 x 12, acrylic on canvas panel.