Winter Pond

This depression in the front of of neighborhood transforms into a pond every November. lasting through late spring. Although I am usually drawn to painting sunny mornings with high contrast of light and shadows, this overcast day created beautiful colors from the soft rouge branches of the snowberry bushes, burgundy branches with golden leaves on the plants framing the pond and the cool greens surrounding the water. Add the heavy moisture in the air that softened the scene, it was meant to be painted! I completed most of this on location until the rainy weather hit. I brought it into the studio to correct some edges and to do a little redesigning. In reality there was a tree in the lower right corner with a bend that brought it down to the ground. Although I liked its graceful arch while painting on location, after setting the painting aside, when I looked at it again it proved to be a distraction to the movement the gold leaves created around the pond. In the studio I eliminated it and I'm much happier with the results.