January 31st, 2017
Oil on Canvasboard, 16 x 20 in

Today, I joined a good friend to paint. I was not satisfied with my rendering of the scene I had in mind yesterday, so I decided to find the photo that was close to it and work from that. So – this painting and the one below are of the same scene – yesterday from memory, today from photo. I am surprised to find that although my colours in this one are much truer to life, and it’s a lot more “realistic” than the one below, I like yesterday’s best. The way the trail of light sweeps left and right, and appears to swell with the water – and just the overall feel. Yesterday’s you’re pulled in, all nature seems to pull you forward toward that moon whereas today’s just lays there before you, being. Interesting what the emotional vs rational renderings reveal.

January 30th, 2017
Oil on Canvasboard, 18 x 24 in

I was full of turmoil and was teaching a painting student. I couldn’t stand to paint the still life the student was painting so decided to work from a picture in my head. I needed to be at my lake. So I struggled to mix the colors that brought the memory and mood to mind. At one point I realized I had a small photo of the approximate scene on my phone, so periodically I referred to that for a tone I wasn’t hitting. Mostly from memory and very emotion driven. The student liked it and bought it, so I left it there.