Monday, August 30, 2010

August Light

It was good to get out painting the August light this weekend!
"Early Morning On the River"
10x8 oil on linen panel
This painting was done Saturday morning at William OBrien State Park. It's hard to believe the summer is already coming to an end. I never feel I painted it enough. In this piece I was completely drawn to the reflections and the incredible back light of this little tree, such a pretty little tree, and naturally the movement of the water on the river. The water is unusually high on the St Croix right now. The movement and energy of the current is intense!
"Old Cow Pasture"
8x10 oil on linen panel
An old oak in a pasture where the cows once grazed.
The golden rod is thick and prime here in Minnesota. Beautiful to paint, horrible on the allergies! The light Saturday evening was truly golden. I love this little pasture, it's so meandering. I'm sure this old oak was a nice place for the cattle to hang out at one time. . .
"Warm August Light"
11x14 oil on linen panel
Now this crazy warm piece was a surprise to me when I brought it into the studio. I was painting into the light and had some reflection bouncing off me onto my canvas which made it a bit difficult to see my color, I had thought I painted it a bit cooler. . . .this was painted Sunday morning. We got out early since it was going to be 90 degrees by noon. It feels so good to have a painting under your belt by lunch time, it's kind like if you accomplish nothing else in a day, it doesn't matter, you painted! This was just 50 yards East of the smaller painting done the night before.
I told myself my goal on this 11x14 was to represent the day with as few strokes possible and getting in the strong shapes of the trees. Oh, and to finish in 2 hours! I don't always set these kind of goals but once in a while it's good for me to do this in order to stay on track with my initial idea and inspiration. Plus it was HOT! So this is what I ended up with, then we wrapped it up for the weekend and went to get some lunch and a cold beer! It felt very deserved. :)

4 comments:

Mark D. Johnson said...

These are great. Love the atmosphere in the first, and the warmth in the bottom two. I tend to think I'm painting warmer than I actually am. I wish I had the reverse problem.

Kami Mendlik said...

Thanks Mark
That's funny, I usually have the same problem you have with thinking I painted warmer than I did. This is why I was so surprised with what I saw when I came in. I think it's got to have a lot to do with the light we're working under. It never stops surprising me! Guess that keeps us on our toes. . . :) Happy Painting!

Marian Fortunati said...

Kami..
I just discovered your blog... This is just wonderful... I'll be back.

Kami Mendlik said...

Thanks Marian for visiting and commenting! Hope to see you again soon!