#2628 "Spring Awakening in the Sanctuary"

#2628 "Spring Awakening in the Sanctuary"
10x8 Gallery Wrap 1.5 inches

The sounds of spring filled the air. The normal cast of characters were letting me know that in their opinion, spring had arrived. Nuthatches, chickadees, various kinds of wood peckers, crows, ravens, the red shouldered hawk, silent turkey vultures, bald eagles... everyone was around. A pair of male blue birds were squabbling over the choicest location nesting box. Flocks of Canada geese were constantly in the air overhead. 

I decided to revisit the single tap that I painted in #2626 "Singleton Spring Sugar Flow" but just from a slightly different angle. The snow was melting fast. In fact the snow was virtually gone. The sun even felt hot on my back. 

I witnessed leaf devils as I painted. The March sun is very strong and that energy is absorbed by the dark soils where the snow and ice had recently melted. Rising thermals of air that are heated from contact with the warm soil would also pick up leaves. Air rushing inward to replace the rising air creates a vortex and these spinning tubes can really swirl the leaves around. With the sunny skies, the sun was almost too hot on my back. 

The immersion of your thoughts while holding a brush within the embrace of the natural environment is a very big reason for plein air painting. The sap was dripping only very slowly which puzzled me. I left my glasses in the Singleton Studio as I did not wish to see any details. The devil lives in those details. 

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