TM9162 Watching the Wind 36×60 oil on panel

Working in the studio is not a linear activity, with clear starts and finishes. Watching the Wind is an example. Last year I started the painting after watching trees outside my window during a blustery bright day. The abstract sense of movement and rhythm seemed like a good challenge for a painting, Last week, when a gallery asked to show the painting, I realized it wasn’t quite finished. The mood of gaiety was what I wanted, but the color needed more complexity. I learn with every painting, and the last year had  wrought changes in me that needed to go into the painting. So it went back on the easel. The painting above is the finished version. Below, are details from the new version, and at the bottom you’ll see the version I thought was finished last year…….live, paint, and learn…isn’t life wonderful…

TM9162 Watching the Wind – detail from center top with wind-tossed leaves and more drawing

TM9162 Watching the Wind – detail from right side with additional soft grays

Adding more cool neutral grays and layering more of the calligraphic lines descriptive of leaves in motion added depth to the painting. The painting, as it was completed last year, is below.

TM9162 Watching the Wind 36×60 oil on panel (first version)