Clouds Rolling in Over Pleasure House Point / update

I went over the clouds again, the background trees, the edge of the creek on the other side, the creek water and changed the shape of the pond in the middle ground then finally got to start on the trees on the path. So, I’ve been to the point a bunch of times and went there to walk a few times without painting. It’s supposed to be nice again tomorrow so maybe I can get more tall grass painted on the path and do some tree trunks and sticks.

Then I’m almost finished except for the reflections on the pond and I want to put a figure on the path. The paint is getting kind of lumpy because of all the layers applied with my palette knife. I might paint the figure with paint brushes since it will be small and a palette knife isn’t easy to do a small figure.

I can’t be a purist about any certain style or art subject that comes up. I think it’s fine to mix up different styles in one painting. A purist who wants to do a palette knife painting might not want to use a brush at all. Some watercolor purists don’t use water color pencils along with watercolors in a tube. Once I heard a juror say, “Pick one style and stick to it.” I wondered if she meant me. Heck, I don’t even know the different styles. I only know what I learned in art school long ago.

I wonder if they would give this a bad critique at the academy. Probably. They were the old school purists.

When there’s not much fall color but you manage to find a little bit and put it in the painting.

There is only one bright tree on the far side. I almost covered it with a pine tree but I’ll save it.

When you don’t take your easel because it’s windy then you find a good way to anchor the painting down to a stick.

I don’t know how well this shows up in the photo. I put the handle of the drawing board over a stick that’s rooted there and it kind of tilts the paper up a little while stopping the wind from blowing it away. Also, maybe you can see where my drawing board broke at the handle once long ago and I glued chop sticks on it to repair it with some glue on paper towels ripped to fit and a little wooden shim over a crack. I just don’t want to buy another drawing board. I’ve had this one so many years I kind of got attached to it. It’s been all over hell’s half acre with me.

If it’s windy I’ll just sit on the ground to paint. It’s a real nice spot there at the edge of the pond.