Rice Creek winter, II

Rice Creek winter II, 6″ x 6″, oil on panel

I’m still adjusting to the change in perspective.  The proportion of land  to sky has greatly shifted with this lower viewpoint from a kayak.  It allows for more detail in the trees and water, but the skies are less dominant.   Since the paintings are about the mood of a place, and I give so much importance to the role of sky for this function, I wonder if it’s the most effective way to go about capturing this area.   On the other hand, I also paint about how small we are in this world of ours, and I really feel that in this painting.

First of the Rice Creek winter series

Rice Creek I, oil on panel, 6″ x 6″

The first in a series of studies for larger works.  Rice Creek is part of the Mobile, or Tensaw Delta, that empties into Mobile Bay.  A kind friend alerted me to its possibilities as subject matter this past winter.  I’ve always been interested in how landscape is obscured by airborne water–whether fog, or spray from an irrigation sprinkler in a cornfield.  The fresh green of spring will probably divert me from the moodiness of the fog, but it continues to intrigue me.