Today we met on location at Green Lakes Trailhead about 27 miles west of Bend, up in the mountains. It was incredibly beautiful. There were three mountains nearby. There was a full stream and wonderful meadows. During Richards demonstration, we were visited by a beautiful little doe. Fortunately, the weather was much cooler, so we all had more energy for painting. There were not so many bugs in the cooler, overcast weather.
Today, Richard talked about aerial, or atmospheric perspective. This is where the artist takes into account knowledge about light waves, refraction, and distance. Here in the northwest, we have quite a bit of moisture in the air, so things that are in the distance become lighter and more blue. The artist has to take that into account to help the viewer see those distances. I am still struggling with that, but I understand it better now.
There were so many views to choose from to paint. Several of the group painted Broken Top mountain. Several chose the meandering stream. A few of us chose the wonderful meadows filled with wildflowers. I worked very hard on my painting, trying to put all my new knowledge to use. I am still struggling with the wall of trees in the distance. I think they detract from the overall painting. Unfortunately, the photo of this painting is really not good. As all artists know, the camera does lie, especially about values. My meadow has many more values than this photo shows.
Tomorrow, we are going to a place called Smith Rocks State Park. I do love painting rocks. Maybe I will have less of a struggle tomorrow. Moving from the studio to pleine air is much tougher than I expected.
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