Backyard Afternoon

8" x 6" oil on panel

You can view and purchase this painting here.

February's location for the Virtual Paintout is Washington DC, so it's a nice coincidence that today is Washington's Birthday! Although I found some great scenes of monuments and brownstones, I liked this little slice of a marina on the Anacostia River. After trying different ways to crop the scene, a tight close-up seemed best. You can't even see the river or the boats—to me it just looks like someone's backyard.

Sketching the scene with Magenta on a Yellow-Ochre toned board.

Putting in the shadows with Ultramarine Blue and Alizarin Crimson.

Starting the sunlit areas. Mixed the cooler greens with Ultramarine Blue and the warmer with Phthalo Blue.

The roofs, tree trunks, sky.

Almost done. Some more detail on the trees, still fussing with the window on the left. I signed it but of course the next days I saw a few things I wanted to change.

Some blended edges between the trees and sky. Cleaned up the left edge of the right-hand building. Put some reflected grass color into the shadows. STILL messing with that window.

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