Happy Thanksgiving

I had fun growing these pumpkins. While the rest of the garden respected their boundaries, these guys were a menace to the neighborhood. I had to go out and hack the vine out of the lilac bushes and off of the garden fence. I gloried in the new orange blossoms everyday. And now, instead of being pumpkin pie, they will continue to entertain me all winter with a layer of ice and a topping of snow.

The darkness of night adds a unity to a painting...and a new degree of difficulty. Is the cast light the correct value? I can't see any orange, but will they "read" as pumpkins without it? What color of light am I casting from the headlamp over my hat?

I completed this painting about 11PM and turned to see my next door neighbor drinking wine and watching this unusual outdoor sport from the warmth of her kitchen window. I was under an umbrella pitched at an angle in the snow while sleet was watering my driveway. She is used to these observations.

Three Moods of Lake Pepin

I felt good about the fact that I balanced kayaking and painting. Here are the three paintings that I completed during a beautiful fall weekend in October with Inland Sea Kayakers at Hok-Se-La campground in Red Wing.

The one on the top is early morning. The above was done in 20 minutes after dinner in rapidly fading light. I like the raw authenticity of it. Plan to do some winter night scenes with this method.

The one above was more successful before I took it home and decided to push the color. I find that my best sketches are on location without "studio work." Who needs a studio when you have the whole outdoors to play in!