Orange in the Dark

Orange in the Dark__6x8 oil on linen panel___$250 unless you were in the workshop :)
OK, I have a lot to say about this one! I painted it while we waited for the moon to rise in the workshop last week in Fredericksburg. K.R. was "shadowing me" and had lots of questions about the sunset colors and how fast they happen...I stalled and him-hawed while waiting for some good color, but it was just too bright looking into the sun...so I created a "South Carolina" landscape and made up a sky with the color I needed so I could tell her a thing or two....Well, in an INSTANT, 15 minutes or more after the sun was down, this BLAZE of color sizzled on the few clouds above us...There was NO LIGHT on my palette, and I only painted the VALUES, using what I THOUGHT were my bright mixes of orangey sunshine...I knew where the darks were on the palette, and used them quickly on the foreground when the color faded in the clouds. All the while I painted, I gave a disclaimer that there was no telling what colors I was using, and that it might not look so hot in the morning!...wouldn't you know it! This is the ONLY study I brought home that I will NOT change!...I guess I paint better in the dark...maybe I will try one with my eyes closed!

Isolated_thunderhead, landscape, storm, Texas sky

Isolated____6 x 8 oil on linen panel____$150 if you are first to ask for it :)
Driving in rush hour traffic a little while ago, there was a BEAUTIFUL "Isolated Thunderhead" in the distant east. I was giving my son a ride home from the auto repair shop, and asked him to shoot a picture of it for me..."Mom, you already have cloud pictures..." It turns out that I had left the camera at home, anyway (first time EVER!), which probably saved an argument. But when I got home, I decided to paint it from memory. It was remarkable to me, because the foreground jasmine (or whatever the yellow flowered bush is) was INTENSELY bright, while the cloud was in the shadow of other clouds, so it had no real contrasts...I am not sure I pulled it off, but it was fun painting from memory!
vvaughan8@yahoo.com