Twilight Alla Prima

"Central Coast Twilight"

6X8 Oil on panel

I had this small 6X8 Ray Mar panel that was an early effort at plein air....hated the painting and had it leaning against a wall behind a dozen other paintings for about 3 or 4 years. I wanted to do some more small pieces and decided it was time to re-use that panel.

I figured a quick nocturne would be fun. You know how painting goes...nothing is definite, or Plans Shmams. I was 3/4 of the way through with the painting last night and I painted that stroke. You know that stroke? That's the stroke that you do that suddenly makes whatever you are working on look totally different if you just follow up on it. Like you're painting a mountain and suddenly you paint that stroke and it now looks like a small hill and it would look much better as a small hill so it becomes a small hill...thanks to that stroke. Then people walk up to you and say how beautiful that hill looks and it's perfect in that painting and you're a genius.

I think it's divine intervention from painters long past.

a detail of the painting.....

Anyway, the painting turned into a twilight scene because it looked better as a twilight scene. I finished it up as a twilight scene and happy that I did. Past daylight and not quite night....Twilight.