TM8497 Now You See It 36×36 oil on panel

Fall is coming. I see it every time I mix a green and find I have to add more yellow ochre or red oxide. The warmth of the color in the vegetation seems to need a balancing of neutral gray, as if late summer’s slightly tired exuberance desired a calm vacation. Now You See It is about looking, then looking again. It’s also about the joy of a new brush (but more about that later).

All summer I’ve been missing the usual flock of ducks I used to see at the pond. I don’t know why they are gone – perhaps they’ve just moved deeper into the woodland swamp and out of sight. I miss their quacks and the noise they make as they slurp duckweed. In fact, I miss them so much I decided to paint a couple into the painting. Being shy, non-urban ducks, they like to find places to hang out where they aren’t too obvious. It might take you a while to find them. Details below. Enjoy.

TM8497 Now You See It – detail with duck

TM8497 Now You See It – detail from upper right with second duck

Technical painting notes: The details below show the layering of textures and the way some of the verticals are painted and others are achieved by scraping away paint. Getting back to the new brush – I used a 3/4″ watercolor wash brush, square-tipped, with extra soft hairs to paint the spaces between tree trunks. The flexibility of the brush allowed me to vary the density of the paint and get an almost twinkly effect of light  – great fun.

TM8497 Now You See It – detail from near center bottom of painting

TM8498 Perhaps It’s All about Expectiations – detail from upper right quadrant