Impressionist Color Study

    Studying color is, of course, much easier during mid rather than late autumn, and painting what you see can be a joy.  Here are two studies completed on two different days --one cloudy and one sunny.  My purpose here was to perceive and paint color as influenced by the ambient light key:

    Cloudy day near sundown, oil on bookbinder board, 11x15(appr)

   Near Sundown (sunny day), oil on bookbinder board, 9x15 (appr)

The paintings above were done at a local Audubon sanctuary in early November.  I was not disturbed by anyone walking the path and I was able to simplify the scene in order to observe color and temperature changes more closely.  The area itself was a lowland with not many trees in the marshy field.

   The following oil sketch, again essentially a color study, hangs now at Spring Bull Gallery in Newport as part of the Gallery's Little Picture Show:

   Beavertail Light, oil on Masonite, 8x10

   Beavertail is a painter's paradise, especially when the light is consistent, as it was on this November day.  Another subject which is always appealing, even when the colorful leaves are sparse, are the houses of Wickford.   Here are two basically color studies done within the last two weeks of November:

   The Red House, oil on wood, 11x14

  A Quiet Corner, oil on wood, 11x14

Both these houses encouraged bold paint handling, enabling me to push the chroma in impressionist fashion.  In this last painting forms seem on the verge of dissipating.  The stone bench and nearby path are near the corner of a small graveyard adjoining Narragansett Church.  It was this light of late afternoon that was the challenge to capture.

   Finally, last week I was curious to see where this paint handling would lead in portraiture.  I had the opportunity to find out at the senior portrait session given at the NK Senior Center:

   Naomi, oil on bookbinder board, 11x15

The sketch is a likeness of the model and reveals certain of her personality traits.  The spontaneity was aided by the fact that only two hours are allocated in these sessions to capture the likeness of the model.