Kaaterskill Boulder and Pool (work in progress)9 x 12 inchesoil on panel
The background is still not done, but I made a lot of headway today working on this painting I started a couple days ago. I'm finding I've had to re-learn what I have already learned in my studio work:
- Slooooow waaaaay doooooown.
- Mix up puddles of the main colors and values with a palette knife before working with the brush.
- Look, look, look... only put down one single stroke and then look back again at the subject.
I know all this so well from my studio work, but somehow outdoors I feel I should be able to get away with slap-dash dabbling. Anyway, it's starting to sink in: I have to be calm and slow and look, even outside. It seems simple, but between the mosquitoes buzzing in my ears, the cold breeze chilling me to the bone, and tourist hikers snapping my photo every few minutes, I have apparently been distracted from everything I thought I knew. Glad it's starting to come back, had a lot of fun today.
PS: For more about this year's Hudson River Fellowship, visit the official blog at: