Landscape painting on a sunny May day

(Above: First strokes of paint over randomly toned ground canvas. Usually I work with one tone and actually I prefer it that way, this was a bit of an experiment.)

After struggling with some new abstracts in the studio, I decided to try something different to challenge myself today. The intuitive source that I rely on so heavily for abstracts wasn't there and I thought having a subject (other than my imagination) would be a nice relief for a change. I'm lucky to have a cousin that lives right down the road from me in an old farmhouse on a large piece of natural property, complete with run down sheds (as seen above) and a stocked pond. Though some of the flowering trees in the yard were beautiful and added bursts of color, I was drawn to the pond for the strong lines of the tree trunks reflected in the water.

Here's the view from where I stood with my easel.

Working...

A visit from a duck...

Here's where I called it a day. I'd like to work on the left side more, creating more contrast in light/dark areas and everything could use a little tweaking, but the general concept is there. I haven't missed oils in my abstracts but boy that acrylic paint sure did dry fast in the open, warm air! I really enjoyed the experience and I think the fresh air and painterly practice did me good.