Afternoon Excursion to the Nature Preserve

Today I thought I'd walk the dog, and get in some plein air painting, all in one shot. The weather here has been absolutely beautiful lately, and even some of the trees are changing color! I went to the nearby nature preserve to see if I could capture some of the beauty.

I painted for about an hour, trying to get the late afternoon light (somewhere between 3:45 and 5 p.m.). I love how the shadows slowly climb down trees and hills, and wanted to capture that in my painting.

Although I slipped in the mud a few times -- and got scraped up pushing through untrimmed thickets to get to my vantage point -- I think it was worth it. Not only did I get some wonderful fresh air and time outside, but my painting turned out all right too... and Bella had a great time dashing through the shallow creek! She needed a bath when we got home, but hey... it was fun. :-)

Below: Bella enjoying the water.

Below: the almost finished painting. I'm going to give it a rest and then maybe come back and tweak some edges and values here and there. Oh - and sign it! :-)

"Around the Bend" - 12x9" - oil on linen panel