8" x 8" oil on board
The family and I took a mini-vacation to Nelson County, VA, for a few days after Christmas, and I was able to sneak in a painting during the final afternoon. I've been painting mostly indoors lately, and it felt great to get back outside, despite the fact that it was FREEZING, and the paint was like spackle that I had to slap on with a palette knife.
I took photos of the same barn, and it really drives home the difference between what your eyes can see and the camera's interpretation of a scene. In the photo, the shadows to the left and right of the barn are solid black masses but in person, I could see several variations of light and color within the shadows. When I'm painting from photos, I try to remember that and paint the way I know my eyes would see it, but it's still tough recreate the range of values and colors of nature when painting from photos. While this painting and my other plein air paintings may not be as finished as some of my "studio" paintings, I think I prefer the looseness and color of plein air. Last post of the year. It has been a good year for painting!
Here's the photo:
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