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| Where Wild Apples Grow |
When weather permits, I love heading outdoors for a session of "speed painting". In contrast to the controlled environment of the studio, painting outside is a mercurial affair, with light and atmospheric conditions continually changing the way things appear.
Upon starting to paint a particular site, there is always a pressing awareness at the back of my mind: The scene before me will soon to morph into something different, and I have only a brief window of time --- an hour at most --- to capture it, before it is gone..
With this in mind I focus on putting down the big shapes and values. Small details and touches can be added later, but the aim for now is to quickly portray the scene in its "essence". Dally too long, and before you know it, the shifting light has transformed colours, shadows and shapes, turning the scene into something else entirely. I find that with watercolours, it is futile trying to keep up with and adjust to these changes; the painting quickly loses direction, colours become muddy and the composition confused.
Recently, voracious hordes of mosquitoes, deer flies and horse flies have done a wonderful job of hurrying me along! While doing these sketches, the most I could stand under the free-for-all attacks of these beasts was thirty to forty minutes! As it turns out, the timing was just about right!
