DarkWater 20x20
I'll readily admit that I begin the new year with the best of intentions, as many do, but Time is not easily herded into corrals of productivity, and it slips away incessantly, new year or not. Inspiration does not herd so well, either, and my latest projects have moved more slowly than I had hoped. The above rascal refused to cooperate, probably because the intention was far too complex; the subtleties that attracted me made it much harder to execute than an ordinary and straightforward landscape. What seems like a clever idea can turn out to be an invitation to frustration. The most difficult part, for me, was the delicate tracery of the mossy limbs that floated like ghosts and defied representation.
Morning Willamette 12x16
The more traditional landscape above took far less wrangling, though it did not promise the potential excitement of the more colorful one above. The rocks on the shore were initially much more stark, until I laid a faint glaze of Indian Yellow over them, resulting in that soft glow I was after. I love learning about a technique, waiting for the right moment to use it, and then discovering that, yes, it does work just as promised! Painting, I am discovering, is not quite like climbing a mountain; one is not necessarily rewarded with better and better views at the accumulation of more hard work. A step forward may not feel like it, and it is only after many steps that one may look back and be assured that progress has been made.
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