PleinAir Magazine – August 2019

August-September 2019 / http://www.outdoorpainter.com

ExpandedDigitalEditionContent

PaintingofJohnMixfrom Bridge

2018,acrylic, 18 x 24in.

Privatecollection

Plein air

Sometimesa smallamountof

vibrantcoloragainsta lotofgray

makesa nicestatement.Lastfallin

Kananaskis,Alberta,I waslooking

aroundforinspiration,butnothing

grabbedmyattention.ThenI looked

downandsawmyfriendpaintingon

theriverbankbelow.Thecolorson

hispaletteandcanvasimmediately

caughtmyeyeastheyweresetagainst

thegrayandwhiteofsnowand

rocks.Thehardestpartwasgetting

theoverheadperspectivecorrect,so

I tooka quickpicturewithmyphone

touseasa referenceforplacementon

thecanvasbecauseI didn’thavemy

sketchbookhandy.I paintedthisona

darkmagentabackground,andyou

canseesomeofthatcolorpeeking

through in different places.

LateOctoberLight

2017,acrylic, 24 x 36in.

Privatecollection

Studio

Thefadingsunlighthitting
thetopsofthemiddle-
groundtreesdrewmeto
thisscene,butI wantedto
exaggeratetheeffect,soI
increasedthesaturationof
theorangesandyellowsin
thatarea.Setagainstthe
coolblueofthefoothills,they
addedjusttherightcontrast.
Thechallengeofthepainting
formewascapturingthe
nuancedsky,whichappeared
todisplaybothwarmand
coolcolors.It tookmeseveral
attemptstogetit correct;I
don’tknowif I couldrepeat
the process if I tried!