Daily Painting

Speaking of titles, here is another painting I did in Capitola. When I first saw this scene, it looked quite black and white. It was late in the day, the sun was setting in the west (towards the horizon in this view), and was backlighting everything. I took a photo that was much more in silhouette than what my eyes could see - I could, of course, discern all the details in the shadows, which the camera doesn't pick up. Between what I could see, and what the photo showed me, I had a jumble of information in my head. I started with a small sketch in color, and it was pleasant, but something was missing. I did another one in different colors. Something, again, was amiss. Then I did a larger painting and started it in color. Midway, I abandoned it - the color seemed too garish. Then, the lover of value studies that I am, I decided to do this in grays. As I painted, it felt right. The painting was telling me: remember? I was backlit, and you liked me in silhouette? Paint me that way. Fo...

Today, in my meditation, I had an insight. I was thinking about this painting that I painted (and sold) en plein air in Capitola a couple of weeks ago. Oh my! It's already been a couple of weeks! It feels much more recent. I recently read an article here about time and how/why it appears to go faster sometimes. More on that another time.... (no pun intended). I was thinking about the title of this painting, and I realized the title has to tell a story that one can imagine and be in. The title should do more than describe what is obvious in the painting itself, what the viewer can already see. For example, I could have named this, predictably, 'Light through the Trees,' or 'Shadows in a Forest,' or some such - which is what you already see in the painting. That is the first thing that might already occur to you as to what the painting is about. But calling it "Meet Me at the Fence" now has a story. A story of two people about to meet, and here is their mee...