Sunset paintings @ Rex Beach 9/29/10

 "Rex Beach #2 --  9/29/10" -- plein air field study -- oil on canvas panel 8x10" -- Margie Guyot

Sometimes I'll get 2 paintings in before it gets too dark to work.  This is the 2nd one of the evening.  When I look around, trying to figure out what to paint, the question on my mind is always "what is there that is most amazing?".  In this case, it was the bank of dark storm clouds to the north.  While I painted happily away on the beach at Eastport, Harbor Springs and Petoskey were getting pounded!  The rain didn't arrive at my house until after 10:30 PM.   

"Sunset #1 - Rex Beach 9/29/10" -- plein air field study -- oil on canvas panel 8x10" -- Margie Guyot

This view is looking west across Lake Michigan from Rex Beach.  That's the Leelanau Penninsula in the distance, home to many small vineyards and wineries.  When I came down to paint this evening, what struck me immediately were the beautiful clouds to the south of the larger, ominous storm front in the north.  I had to paint very fast to get this onto canvas.  

This winter I might use some of these small field studies in a larger work.  I'd like to experiment with a technique to get the skies to appear to glow.  First I'll paint the sky in pure white and leave it dry.  Then I'll follow with some very thin glazes of color and Liquin.  It seems that when you mix white into colors to create a pastel, it tends to gray everything.  Make things chalky.  Which is not "glowing".  It's worth a try.