I often feel like the days are too short. There is always so much that I want to do and time seems to fly by. However, today is a bit special, as we shifted our clocks to standard time last night. I have always found it a bit jarring, as you start to notice the autumn days getting slowly shorter, then one day - BAM! - sunset at 5:45. This time of year is very fleeting in many ways. The sunlight is at a premium, and mother nature teases us for a few weeks out of the year with the brilliant colors of the deciduous trees. This afternoon I went about 60 miles north of Atlanta to Dahlonega, GA and painted in the vineyards of the Montaluce Winery. A beautiful place they have with views of the very start of the Appalachian Mountains. It was a great drive and I'm always amazed at the variety of colors in the fall leaves. I picked this spot as I liked the very green tree on the right and the yellow-green vines set against the earthy tones of the surrounding forest. I especially enjoyed how the backlighting brought out those colors.
So about this sunlight thing. I'm actually not as down about it this year as I have been in the past. This summer I was introduced to nocturnal painting at the Marc Hanson workshop I took. However, I have only had a couple of chances to try my hand at it. Now with the time difference, I plan to scout out some good night time scenes in my area. We'll see what happens.
"Montaluce Vines"
oil on lead primed canvas
SOLD
Submitted by donthacker on Sun, 2009-11-01 23:25