Kwanzan Cherries, Clarksburg, 14 x 11 UART 400

It was a lovely sunny day when I was grocery shopping this morning and I looked forward to getting outside for the first time. But, alas, by the time I’d found something to paint, the sky was totally overcast. I did as I often do, driving out of the driveway, having no idea of my destination!  I ended up in Clarksburg on Burnt Hill Rd–a lovely rural area with a humongous housing development 1 mile away!

I drove over a hill and saw this and knew this was my subject. I wanted to do something with spring colors, and I loved the flow of the road and the shape of the roof.  The big challenge was the two cherry trees because they could become very isolated color. To offset this, I added magenta in the foregrounds grasses, the road, the background trees and in the shadow areas of the house. Also used come cool reds in the chimney, so that it would be more compatible. The greens looked so bright outside, but became duller when I brought the picture inside, which was fine with me. I wanted it to have a painterly look  and not be too shocking. I see some things I probably should have changed, such as the  background trees and roof being at the same level. The greens in the foreground also look quite similar to those in the background. However, I was freezing and I didn’t have a pencil and (can I find any more excuses???).  Ah well.  Not too bad for the first one.