Don't chase the Light

Subject at 3:00 late afternoon

Subject at 5:00 same day

Here is an example of how much the lighting can change on a subject while you're out painting. Comparing the photos its easy to see the drastic differences, but on site it is harder to see. The changes kind of sneak up on you.

I began this painting trying to anticipate what the light would do. I locked in my darks and then laid in my large shapes with a general color and saved the bright yellow orange colors for last.

If I had tried to paint in the light areas first, they were changing so fast, I would have been adjusting all the colors the whole time. You hear plein air painters instruct "don't chase the light" and this is what they are talking about. You can see in my finished painting that the lighting is somewhere in between the two photos.

"Chasing the Light" 8x10