Don’t you just love a perfect morning when everything comes together after a delicious cup of hot coffee?

A few weeks ago in February, I couldn’t wait to get my brushes into paint and get started on a canvas.

Mount pochade box onto tripod. Squeeze out color. Brushes available and warm fire in the wood stove. Perfect.

The sun rises and shines on the birch. Mountains appear across the river valley. I pile on the paint and push the color to capture the scene.

Fire crackles in the wood stove. It entertains and warms me.
I start with bright colors. I will tone them down with more layers of paint but the orange of the morning-sun-sky needs to shimmer through the trees. I like to have little edges of bright color intensify the whole visual experience.

Adding color to the canvas affects the other colors in dramatic ways. It’s a whole world that’s being created with its own relationships. Colors contrast and enhance each other. A brush stroke with light orange tint can make the light blue shimmer and appear more intense.

“Sunrise”
8″ x 10″ oil
Morning sun shines orange through the trees and lights the sky behind the silhouette of Mt. Hayes.
The day begins in the Tanana river valley. I love morning sunlight. It warms up the sky and contrasts with the cool blue shadows.