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    This week I have been working on a series of paintings about a snow fence on the sand dunes at St Augustine Beach.   So far I have done a couple of sketches and one 6 x6 that I sold at the downtown show last fall. I have this 6 x 6 and an 8 x 10 finished and 3 more larger sizes with under paintings in ready for the oil paint layer.  I'm really intrigued by this composition because of the way the dunes created a curved line that lead to the snow fence. One end was hidden in the bushes with the other end running out to the dunes. Over time, it got tired of fighting the wind and laid down against the sand. The fence itself made a very interesting shape and that's what caught my eye. 

Layer one. Putting in the dark green trees and a little sand over the acrylic under painting. 

Adding in the beginning of the sand color and marking out where the grasses are going.

 Almost done

The finished 6 x 6 oil. Sand Fence. #2 I decided I didn't like the line of the fence so I painted over the whole middle part and re cut in the fence and added some foreground color.

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.