Brandywine

With the break in the current heatwave which had been baking almost the entire country it seems the DPC or Alina and I decided to hit the road and paint. I decided to drive down to the Brandywine and along the river in Chadds Ford, know for being the homestead of the Wyeth clan. in fact we were just a short distance from the Brandywine River Museum. We came along Brandywine Picnic Park and set up and got ready to paint.

Alina checking out the spot. We couldn't have asked for a better day really, just perfect blue, blue summer skies and it was cool in the shade. We saw several people canoeing or floating down on big inner tubes.

There was so much good here to paint it was more of a choice of what not to try and paint, so many good views--so we'll deninitely be going back!
Alina searches for a composition and settled on the bridge.

Alina painting away.




Alina's progress as the day wore on. She say right down on the river bed because the water level is pretty low due to the fact we have had so little rain.


I settled on the dynamic composition of the two trees arching over the riverbank, and here is my initial block-in.











Here is my final painting. Since we kind of got a late start we had less time before the sun changed the shadows too much, but I'd say we still got near 4 hours of painting time in. I'm really trying to both add more paint and more color into the shadows to really paint the light. Looking at Sorolla and Sargent to really see the masters at work and to try and take their lessons into my own thinking, yet I always want to be open and responsive and if I find if I get unclear, I wipe it off or scrape it off or re-mass it all back. I am also really looking at and studying the Russian Social Realist painters too, I love how they handle light and the dash of their paint application.




The stream makes and handy wash if you remember to bring soap!



Alina with her wonderful painting, her best yet.

A close-up of Alina's painting. So it's back in the studio for a few days but I am really charged and plan to head back out next week and engage nature again!