I got an early start this morning pulling into a small parking area overlooking Brant Rock by 6:30 am. It was a mild morning - about 40 degrees with thick cloud cover. I've come to appreciate the beauty of a cloudy day. The water and sky hinted at shades of green, blue and pink. It takes very little chroma to prepare the paint needed to capture the day accurately. The tide was especially low revealing a lot of dark rocks, a nice contrast to the pale, gray day.
Stepping back I could focus back and forth between the scene and my canvas to compare values and color. The painting came together quickly, which was good because it was damp and cold. It's February so it could have been a lot colder, but with no sunshine and standing still, I became too cold to stay long....pretty lame, huh?
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| Cloudy February Morning at Brant Rock |
I'm satisfied that the result shows the experience. I saw a grayish mist over everything. It felt good to be outside painting in the chill. I thought about the extra low tide timing working out well to produce a painting with good contrast. If it had been high tide, I would certainly have framed a different scene.
It was one unique morning never to be repeated in exactly the same way ever again - and a painting to prove it.
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