The day had started out perfect, with a clear blue sky and a few puffy clouds. Then it became every plein air painter’s nightmare: dark clouds rolling in right after setting up! I did what I could to paint the scene, hoping the sky would clear. No luck. The photo above shows how flat and dismal it looked. I gave up for the day and came home.
The next morning I decided to stay home and finish up yardwork. The weather report said it would be our last nice day for the next 7 months. But by noon the sky was blue! What the heck. I drove back to the same spot, hoping to fix the gloomy painting. Can you see the difference in the colors and lighting?
The sky was still blue – amazingly! – so I headed down to a favorite spot, Ranney Road. Back in August I painted this spot. I wanted to see what it looked like in fall colors. I pulled the truck as far off the narrow path as possible, yet it still hung over a tad. Worried that it might be a tight fit if somebody came by, I painted as fast as possible. Nobody came by, of course….
