Morning Light ~ Island in the Stream

I knew when I started I wanted to create a large colorful painting. Blues, pinks, greens, yellows and white.  I wanted to have fun with texture, keep the painting painterly and slightly impressionistic.  The abundance of spring wildflowers in this meadow scene was the inspiration for the bold colors.  This was to be offset by the morning lit soft sky and the reflected light off the water. 

I kept wanting to add bold colors to the water but with the light sky it just didn’t work.  I ended up creating a mosaic-like pattern of pastel colors in the water to capture the reflected light.  The paint was applied with a palette knife and if you look closely the patterns of color are raised from the canvas.  It took some patience in order to play the subtle colors off each other and place the paint down cleanly in various shapes.

Now that I’m finished and I’m analyzing Morning Light, I find that the water leads my eyes back into the painting to the single island in the stream and then off to the distant hills of Lexington (Virginia).  Then I notice the bend in the creek and I like the fact that it makes me wonder what was around the corner.  It’s only then that I start noticing the strong display of color on the lower left.   Fun color patterns were developed in order to hopefully hold the viewers interest a little longer.  Lastly, I have the desire to get up close and scrutinize the pastel colors in the water and study the texture and shapes. 

Simple complexities might be a good way of summing up this painting, if that makes sense.  I wanted to leave the viewer with a sense of serenity while at the same time creating enough interest to leave a lasting impression. 

As always, I would love to hear from you.  Let me know what you think!