Evergreen Summer Evening - pleinair

6"x8" oil on Belgian linen mounted on professional artboard (Raymar)


"Art is something absolute, something positive, which gives power just as food gives power."
- Hans Hofmann

I've been waiting for this day in particular to paint this scene again. Three years ago, on July 21, 2005 at 8:15pm I painted this scene for the first time. We had just moved into this house three days before on the 18th. Now, in 2008, I paint again on the evening of the 21st at 8:15pm to compare the evening sky to that prior date. We have three more days to really 'live' here and on this Friday, the 25th, we finally close on our new house....and can start taking our things over! Today I started boxing up tins of solvent & mediums, jar of brushes from my work table...all going into a plastic bin to take over to my new studio. Folded up easels to be ready to cart over. Certain things we will separate out, so that when the packers come next Monday, there will be no liquids, etc. for them to sort out. Hopefully my work space in the new house will be what I set up first. I found this quote (listed above) to be quite true - I do gain energy from my work. I truly find excitement, strength and renewal every time I go to put paint on that canvas. And paintings for me always bring about a memory of place, what I was doing at a certain point in time. Even though I painted the partner to today's painting 3 years ago- I remember every thing I felt that evening - how incredibly hot and humid it was outside and in the house, too. How tired I was from unpacking boxes....and that I just wanted to paint! AND that it was too doggone hot in the kitchen to cook anything for dinner until at least 9:00pm! All those memories in a 6x8" canvas. This evening (Monday night as I write this) as I painted, I looked for oranges in the sky like I saw 3 years ago, but there were none. But instead a peachy-pinky- mauvey light interrupted by a brighter yellow-white streaking diagonally across the low sky. My goodness the evergreen trees in the back yard have grown a bit, and gotten shaggier, there's less space between them now. Memories of this evening will be the tiredness from preparations for moving , but the excitement of owning our own place, the sadness of leaving good friends in this neighborhood....and the satisfaction that this painting will remind me of all the good things I love about this place that I'm moving from.


******I hope you will join me during August as I take part in painting "A Tribute To A Beautiful Earth" - Celebrating and Conserving our Planet at www.DailyPainters.com. One hundred thirty-seven (137) member artists from 10 countries will post their tributes to the planet at the website. The Online International Show will begin August 1st and run all month to celebrate the beauty of the world and taking care of it. ********