Bommer Canyon with SCPAPA Rain or Shine

As I rolled onto Shady Lane the rain began to gently run across my windshield.  I had left early so that I could finish early.  I fought the traffic so that I could get one of the few parking spots.  There was no way a little rain was going to stop me.

There were a number of challenges with this painting.  I had never painted in the rain.  The amount of green in this composition was overwhelming.  How was I going to get the diversity of color?  Green is one of the more difficult colors for me to mix.

I ended up using a paper towel on the board.  The build up of water on the surface made it difficult to lay down the paint.  My painting began to take on the characteristics of a water color.  This was the first time that I had used a paper towel to mix colors.

Here you can see the water beading up on my board.

The water building up on my pallet had to be drained several times during the course of the painting.  The puddles of water made it difficult to mix colors.

The painting is blocked in.  The challenge at this point in the painting was to create a sense of distance within the painting.

The mist and the rain continued to change moment to moment.  I had to pick my spots on how specific areas of the painting were going to be represented.

The foreground needed to be warmed up and there needed to be stronger lighter values in the foreground.  The foreground also needed to have the strongest value contrast.

Warmer colors had to be added to the foreground in order to help push the background into the distance.

The sun started to peak out and I started to dry off a little.  The only other SCPAPA painter to stay and paint gave me a little perspective on weather earlier in the day.  Al Carlson said that the English believe there is no such thing as bad weather-only bad clothing.  Painting in a long sleeve t-shirt and shorts definitely qualifies as bad clothing. 

Here I worked to re-establish the flow of the hills and their shapes which I had lost to a certain degree.

Here I am making the foreground more full of contrast and warmth. I am also working on the diversity of greens within the painting.

Finished! 

Bommer Canyon 24x32 plein air oil on board.

The value shot shows a constriction of values that result in a less dynamic finish than I would like.  I should have found the lighter values in the hills and in particular the clouds and sky to bring this painting greater vitality.

The detail shot shows the quality or lack of quality of the brush work and the abstract nature of the shapes and marks within the painting.