Ocean Sky

Ocean Sky, 12 x 9, oil on panel, L. Daniel © 2012 

Did I mention that we had some rain on St. Simons while we were there? Yep, tropical storm Beryl rolled through and left some water and debris in its tracks. We were lucky that it didn't get worse and that we didn't have days of endless rain. This particular cloudy sky happened before just before Beryl. I was painting on Jekyll Island with a gaggle of painting friends (that shore in the distance is actually St. Simons.) Rain threatened all day but we were not deterred. We got a painting in and had some lunch before it really came down. 


Now they are getting tropical storm Debby in those parts. "Tis the season...

Stormy Meadow - Adirondack Trip

Stormy Meadow, L. Daniel, 12 x 16

Sometimes when the sky is darkest, the ground takes on an incredibly intense hue. In this meadow, the grass sparkled a brilliant chartreuse while the distant mountains came in and out of view with the fickle mist. Occasionally some light would push through on the horizon, but only for a moment. It was just one of those rainy mountain days... cozy...

Summer Rain (enlarged)

Summer Rain, L. Daniel, 18 x 18

This is a one of several new additions to my big sky series I have been working on since the beginning of the year. I will be posting a couple more new ones over the next few days. Based on a small plein air study (posted June 27), I revisited a warm summer afternoon of painting on Lake Somerville here in Texas. At the end of the day dark clouds rolled in behind the fluffy clouds in the foreground, and emptied out their contents on the distant shore. It is always fun to be watch a weather phenom in action!!

Summer Rain

Summer Rain (study), L. Daniel, 9 x 12

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On Friday afternoon, I traveled with a small group of painting buddies to Bryan, Texas for a paintout we were attending on Saturday morning. On the way there, we stopped at Lake Somerville State Park and found this breezy lakeshore vista. The showers in the distance never reached us and we painted till dusk. Ah, the good life...

Distant Showers (enlarged)

Distant Showers (enlarged), 18 x 18, L. Daniel

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What is it about rain in the distance that is so captivating? I think it's that we can actually SEE the clouds bursting and the water pouring out. It's thrilling and it carries a certain sense of urgency (must close windows... must batten down the hatches.) It's just so big and powerful.

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This is the third painting in my big sky series from West Texas...

Distant Showers (study)

Distant Showers (study), 6 x 6, L. Daniel, SOLD

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I painted this small study as a preparation for my third "big sky" painting. This is a series I am working on that began with a painting trip I took to the Davis Mountains in West Texas. I was very inspired by the unlimited largeness of the sky and had to respond (one thing leads to another and there you go, a series is born.) Tomorrow I will post the larger painting of this scene.

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