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Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Sedona Plein Air Festival - Day 3


12x16


Monday, as I mentioned in my last post, was a "free painting" day.  I chose to stay closer to home and visit one of my special spots.  It's along Spring Creek, and surprisingly, there's a good bit of early fall foliage.  The river willows have turned a beautiful yellow.

For the one above, I turned back to the painting knife.  Painting with the knife in a larger format - this one is 12x16 - always takes me longer, so it was good to work in a place away from people and other distractions.  The rushing of a waterfall behind me created a Zen-like space, and that made it all the more pleasurable.   You almost need that when painting with a knife because, for me, knifework consists of lots of little precise movements and very few large strokes.  I do start the painting with a brush, but once the initial block-in is complete, I turn immediately to the knife.

I also had some time to adjust the two paintings I did Sunday evening at my Cathedral Rock overlook.  Both of these were done rapidly because of the fast-changing evening light and had some rough edges that needed work.  I had fully intended to paint these with a knife, too, but because things were moving quickly, I didn't have time to make the switch.  Once you're on a fast boat in the rapids, you don't want to risk trying to get into a slower one.

Here they are.  Same scene, different light.  The small one (9x12) was done just minutes before sunset.

12x16

9x12

This evening at 7 pm, Kevin Macpherson will be giving a talk on his "Reflections on a Pond" exhibit, which is currently up at the Sedona Arts Center.   I admire his work a lot, and I'm looking forward to it.

Now it's time to head off to another location.  Today we have some beautiful clouds.