Plein Air Ain't Easy (Continued)

 Edge of Sarvis Creek, Steamboat (photo)

Plein Air paintings are a lot like pancakes: you have to throw out the first one or two before you can start to hit your stride.  I painted for hours trying to perfect my painting on my previous blog post, and I didn't love it in the end.  I put it aside and started adding color to my other outdoor sketches, and this time, I was happier in half the time!  In the future, I'll toss out the first "pancake" a lot sooner, and get to the good stuff.

Monochrome Study, Creek's Edge, oil on gesso board

I painted in monochrome the entire time I was outside in Steamboat.  There's a ton of color out there, so I wanted to keep things simple and focus on value (lightness and darkness).

"Creek's Edge", Oil on Gessoboard, 10 x 8"

When I got back to the studio, I added color to my sketch, trying to stay true to my value areas, so if you converted this to black and white, it would look pretty much the same as my original monochrome. You can see that I played around with the color, too.  I don't like a whole lot of green in my paintings.

Monochrome Study, "The Stand", oil on gesso board 

"The Stand", Oil on Gesso Board, 10 x 8"

Another monochrome study, and a version with color.  I may actually start to enjoy this process!  Time to pack up and head out again!