About this oil:
The painting began with a much more complicated background of three, bright colored hills and they remained there as I worked out the lake patterns, increasing the complexity. After a few days of considering what to do next, a solution never presented itself. I was stuck.
The painting had real potential but it as if a key was stuck in the lock. That’s when I realized the original idea of simply expressing color had been overtaken by all of that detail in the background.
So the paints came out, brushes were loaded and the hills were merged into one mass. Detail was kept to a minimum and the background became a wall of light and subtly blended color.
As a colorist, sometimes I just want to use color in a simple and unbounded way. Since it’s currently fall, the yellow trees in abundance compelled me to begin a canvas with those trees as a focus.
Everything supports and enhances the yellow trees and the large band of color in the back adds drama and power to the work. It was an elegant and colorful solution.
