Daily Painting Plein Air Practice - Day 13 - Moody Blues

I was having what I call a "Moody Blues" day yesterday. Do you ever get those moods where you just want to have as much space around you as possible? Space without the vibes of other people near you. I was having one of those mornings and the weather seemed to reflect it. One of the benefits of being a plein air artist is that you can pick your location to work each day (based on mood, income at the moment, or how far to the nearest cup of tea is).
Being alone out of doors and quietly painting helped to clear up whatever mood I started the day. (Beauty has that effect on me). What fascinated me as I stood outside was the depth and richness of the colors on a foggy day. I had trouble mixing them. I was thinking cool, but I was seeing warm. What I thought were gray muted tones were really a mixture of grays with rich greens and subtle blues. It was a very confusing problem. This is why you read so much about getting out and practicing. The experience is what you need to collect not the photographs.

click on the image to enlarge the picture

Work in Progress - Standing Bear Park on a Foggy Morning
20"x24"
oil on masonite

I also was trying an experiment in working with a large canvas or board from the start. I learned a few things right away. I have a habit of not squeezing out enough paint onto the palette. You can see that in the photograph above. I run out of paint and this causes me to paint very weak and thin. This is magnified when painting with a large canvas in the field. Also, you absolutely need to use large brushes or you will never finish.