Along the Raccoon

The past couple of weeks have been alternately rainy or very warm, but a few days ago was a perfect day with sunny skies, a light breeze and pleasant warmth. A friend and I set up along the Raccoon River not far from my home studio in early morning while the light still slanted pleasantly into the river. The river winds lazily through Waterworks Park and joins the Des Moines River only a few miles farther on. It's often muddy, sometimes thickly so, but lately the water hasn't carried so much Iowa topsoil as it does after a heavy rain. The trees along the river are in full foliage, some the dark green of summer and some still spring-green. The current eddies lazily and here and there a Canada goose swims along.

This is the study that resulted. Most days it takes about two hours for the light to change enough to confuse my eyes and make the painting tougher, so unless I have two supports that's the end of outdoor work. The morning light washed over from my left, reflecting on the water, throwing shadows under distant trees along the bank.

I toned an 8x10 panel with raw sienna thinned to a transparent wash. Measuring carefully I laid out the major shapes first then blocked in the largest masses of color, working to establish the right values and hues. Rendering water is difficult for me, so I spent quite a lot of time on the river and the opposite bank. Because of the changing light I stopped with the final painting still showing unfinished places such as the upper right corner, where branches and leaves are yet to be delineated.

"Along the Raccoon," oil on panel, 8x10

This 8x10 oil on panel may serve as a reference for a larger studio work in the future, as can many of these plein air works. Even without further development, the experience of painting a work outdoors is still exhilarating. You're facing the subject and dealing with it on a fairly fast but manageable timeline. Decisions must be made and worked out as you go. The image can look utterly hopeless and then somehow snap into shape. That was what happened with this one, "Along the Racoon."
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Waterworks Park
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