#2744 "February Morning at Jim Day Rapids"

#2744 "February Morning at Jim Day Rapids"
11x14 oils on canvas

It was a beautiful day for mid February. It was also unseasonably warm. I decided to paint something outside. If I stood near the home somewhere, it would discourage the dozens of squirrels that had discovered that we also feed the birds. 

I decided to stand on the rocky lake shore at the entrance to Jim Day Rapids. It was a signature characteristic view of the area and would be a challenge to capture cleanly in oils. The sun felt warm for February 12th. 

There are several, characteristic moments to be enjoyed in most plein air painting adventures. I often feel really excited at the start when laying in the big shapes and range of tones. Uncertainties arise soon after when I question whether I can pull the shapes all together without getting into the busy details. The important decision is to stop before too many brush strokes can mess up the edges and turn the oils into mud. My goal is to be truthful in recording the feeling of the place without being a camera.. Sometimes in the middle, I typically wonder what I am doing. But the art has to speak if it wants to reach out to others  and for that to happen, I also must have something to say. 

A chickadee landed on the painting while I worked but I was too slow to get an image of that. The otter was poking through the ice almost anywhere it wanted making me think that the white surface was more like Swiss cheese than solid ice. Trumpeter swans were sleeping on the ice. The birds were also singing like it was spring - and I could hear them with my new hearing aids. Life is good.

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Warmest regards and keep your paddle in the water,

Phil Chadwick