The Big Rock(s)
9" x 12" oil on board
"The Big Rock" is what my kids call this section of Daniel's Run Park. So called because there is a fairly large boulder that they climbed back when the boulder probably seemed a lot larger than it does now. The path here follows a ten foot fence lined with barbed wire with signs pointing out that the area is under video surveillance. It's a strange area that reminds me of the Hawkins National Laboratory from Stranger Things. I'm not sure how the giant boulders got there - there are no other boulders in the park that I've seen, and they seem to be purposely placed in ascending size.
My plan was to paint the largest boulder which is farther up the hill, but it was mostly in shade and didn't look as appealing as these three smaller boulders that line the path. I did three paintings, but this is the only one that was worth keeping.
Painting slivers of light in the forest is extremely difficult. The light seems to change twice as quickly as it does in an open space such as a field and within 5 minutes, the light and shadows were completely different from my initial sketch. My first painting was a failure because I tried to adjust to match the changes, which made everything muddy because I was painting over the original drawing. This painting was more successful because I sketched everything out and made notes or little dots of paint to show what the light looked like and then basically quit looking at the scene because it was no longer anything like the original sketch. In fact, it was completely in shade. See photo below.
The 3rd painting was also a failure and then I got a text from Sarah that she and the kids were heading my way. When they got there both kids remarked that the boulders were not as big as they remembered them to be.
