Started as Plein Air--finished in studio

I have a thing about water and falls. I like the changeability of water in it's many moods and settings. So I went to Minneopa Falls again a couple of weeks ago. With my grandson and niece. They went hiking and I set up to paint. In no time they were back and ready to be creative too. Hafsa, my niece, found a dangerous place on the wrong side of the fence to paint the falls. That is a drop off right at her feet to the bottom of the fall's gorge. My set up in the back ground.

Grandson, Avery, decided to do a life drawing of his grandpa. Here he is working hard to get the likeness just right.

 Grandpa was happy to pose for a while. I think he took a nap.

I started this painting of the falls on site but was using my new alkyd paints that dry very quickly .... too quickly for a hot day. I was getting quite frustrated and decided to bring it home blocked in. I took it to the studio today to finish it in between working on my commission. Using the alkyds in the studio worked much better. In the sun and heat the day I was at the water falls, the paints dried quickly and they were like working with glue. In studio they work just fine. You can still tell that they dry faster. I think I kept it fresh and not too over done. That is the problem with bringing a painting home to finish from a photo. I have the photo but did not use it except to check the bridge. And to keep the falls looking right. This has been a banner year for the falls. We have had lots of snow and rain this year and the falls have been full all summer long. Some years there is hardly any water falling.

The photo is a bit bluer than real life. Used ultramarine blue to make the grays and my camera always emphasizes  the blue in photos. Just think gray where there are blue shadows.