"Hopes for the Sycamores"

Looking at a painting for a year or so one can see that so much more could be done with it. In this vein, I took a brush and palette up to work on "Cloven Sycamores" which had been sitting in a blind alley (or my storage room for artwork) for some time. I began this one in my bedroom just looking out over the river below (it's not the James but the Rockfish River which does flow into the James River)me as I look out from the back of my house. A good friend said that I needed to do a painting of those two trees. I said "No way man!!" I felt it would be just too big of an object to fit into any canvas of mine. Then a year when by n I was simply pulled into that view when I was just gazing on afternoon upon that pair. I began it in 2013. I had the drop cloth bought simply for the reason of protecting the bedroom carpet from my easel's drippings. I set up on a sunny day and when to work. The start didn't take long I think in five hours I had a good start underway. I stopped for breaks and then returned refreshed and full of energy, excitement, and knowledge of where I wanted to take these trees. Its not all that easy to deal with the wild greenery along with the bear limbs, browns and ochers that fill the autumn landscape here in Virginia. I got to it though. I finished with the thought that I was done with it. I posted it on this blog, and then moved on to other things that life fills me up with. Then flash forward a year to last weekends snowstorms when I was off work, and home alone. I had time to take a good look and saw what...well I saw that much more could be done with that image of those sycamores. I let that idea sit with me for a day or so then I got it out and put it up on the easel for my thoughts to gell on this issue. I finally got out the palette and brushes, got on my gameface and got to work. In the time it took for the sun to set, I had painted a "good one". The results were greater than I imagined but near where my hopes lye.