Painting Spring Lake

Ann: "Wow! This scene is a lot harder to paint than I thought it would be…."
Me: (laughing)"Ann, you say that every time…."

Perched on a bench on the dam above Spring Lake, the weather is perfect--not too hot, blue sky, a slight breeze. The lake is still, and reflecting the clear blue sky,and the stands of trees around it. There are touches of yellow in the trees--harbingers of the changing leaves of autumn? The hills are golden brown with dark green patches of oak trees along their flanks.

Ann: "The trouble with these Sonoma County skies is that they are so bland…."
Me: "That's because they are clear and blue. Look at the reflections in the lake…"
Ann: "What is that color--it's almost brown…."
Me: "It keeps changing…How come I have three blues, four yellows and ochres, and only ONE green?

One or two people stand behind us and look at what we are doing. One woman chats on about how she likes what we are doing, but she could never do it herself. I am surprised at how difficult it is to paint and chat at the same time. Sounds drift up from the people walking below--especially small excited boys with loud voices. I add a couple of bright red kayaks to my picture. They were actually a dull yellow, but I liked the small speck of bright color.

Back at the car we stood our pictures side by side and discussed them. I will either be able to go back to mine and improve it tomorrow, or I will start all over again with a different plan in mind. Either way, I 'm enjoying it--the camaraderie, the creativity and the challenge. I'm not sure I'm ready for large landscapes yet, so next week maybe we will paint a single oak tree. What does one do about all those leaves…?