I was taking an early Sunday morning walk several weeks ago when I noticed the early sun illuminating the fog-draped hills north of my house. I dashed back to the studio to sketch out my interpretation of the long shadows arcing across the hills and the row of houses along the road in the distance.
At the time, I was very excited about the sketch and couldn't wait to put it on paper. I am pleased with how the fog dips over the peak of Mt. Burdell, the subtle green against the light lavender/grey of the sky, as well as the small spots of color that I used to interpret the houses.
As I stepped back, I also saw these bits of color as sailboats on distant bay. I really enjoy elements of a painting that can be perceived differently by several viewers. A friend was looking at an older painting (Almost Full, below), and he interpreted the edge of some breaking waves as a whale's tail. Very rewarding when others see things in a painting that I had not imagined.
Note: My original sketch had the cast shadows of several large trees washing over the foreground at the left. I decided to omit them as busy and distracting. I'm still undecided whether to go back and add them in.
