Chalk Ridge Falls: Messy Plein Air Study at the Magic Hour

Chalk Ridge Falls (Plein Air) 9×12 Acrylic. Had about an hour for some quick messy fun.

This is a scene from Chalk Ridge Falls, where the Lampases River connects to Stillhouse Hollow Lake down from the dam. There’s a magic hour where the sun hits the cliffs down by the lower stream.  If you blink too long the shadows have already changed.  After spending a few weeks on a single commission painting, it was a welcome change to just slap big wads of paint down and not think twice.   This is the big difference between “plein air” and “studio” painting.  Here’s the actual scene below. I added a few needed details as soon as I got home and called it finished.  It’s so tempting to go back in and “fix” things, but “messy” is the joy of plein air.

Here’s the scene just after the hour of sunlight on the cliffs was gone. My pallet looked like it was mauled by the Tasmanian Devil after this rush of painting.

This is also preparation for the first week of October.  I’m fortunate enough to have a week long workshop with John Cogan in Palo Duro Canyon State park (thank Mr. Chapman!!).  This is a HUGE deal for me.  He’s like a Micheal Jordan in the outdoor acrylic painting world. I want to be ready, so a big part of this exercise was seeing if masonite board would be a good panel to bring, It was smooth as butter. Awesome.