oil on canvasboard, 6" x 8"
This is a quick palette knife sketch I did from a photo I took of a pond in Valle Escondido in late September. The well-known plein air painter Kevin Macpherson painted this scene, which is on view from his living room window, hundreds of times. It became the inspiration for his book, "Reflections on a Pond." There is a lot to learn from a scene like this for painting purposes. It is an ever-changing subject, full of challenges. I find it particularly challenging to paint water with a palette knife. Much easier with a brush, but my overriding focus for this study was in getting the value of the distant mountain range right.
