Daily Painting Practice in Maine - Plein air at Owl's Head State Park

Hidden in Plein sight!

Last week I painted at Owl's Head State Park.  I had to  slide down a rather steep embankment to get to this nice little cove, but it was well worth the effort.

Owl's Head State Park, Maine

The  day was absolutely gorgeous. The tide was still going out and the sun was low but I knew it would be coming up over my left shoulder so I parked myself in the shade.

Blocking in

I was drawn to those rocks in the sunlight so I positioned them as my focal point for a color study.

Color study - Owl's Head

Then it was back  to the studio to begin work on a larger version.

Block in the composition at the Studio

developing tones and temperature

I'm keeping the paint very loose and thin and concentrating mostly on compressing the values. In other words I am trying not to use the entire value scale on my palette. (black to white) I'm  going to try to limit the range of values.... This is something new for me so "try" is the key word here.

Owl's Head Cove -Work in Progress

I started working from the back left and will make my way around. I have a lot more work to do but I am liking the progress. The water is so thinly painted I am surprised how much is happening in it. The thin paint should make it easier to add indications of waves.

 Values and subtle color temperature changes I think will be the key to success in this painting.  Only time in the studio will tell.