#4 -Soft Light and Fog, a Study in Whispers

#4- Fog Whispers, 6x6", Oil on MDF Board

For this, my fourth small painting, I was working in generalities, trying to explore the warmth of the sky light against the contrast of the darker, cooler water and land mass.  The low light was tricky because colors die in it, and catching the right values and intensities was my challenge.

Richard Schmid, the accomplished American painter and teacher once said that blending is like mumbling.  I have always kept that in mind since I read it in one of his books.  He is right.  There is danger in blending away all the energy in a piece when you obscure the immediacy of the brush marks as they are placed.  But fog is soft, and maybe more about muffled quiet than a mumble.

I chose to soften the whole piece after I laid it in.  Then, I came back with my brush, allowing the freshness of unaltered strokes.   I'm not sure if the result is exactly what I wanted, but once again, this was a valuable learning experience. 

I hope it is more like a whisper than a mumble.

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