Monday, September 2, 2013

King of the Hill



6"x6" Oil on Gessoed Panel
with Palette Knife
NFS




As a child, I used to play a game called "King of the Hill" with my friends. One player (the King) stands atop a hill (or ditch as in our case). Challengers climb the hill and wrestle the king. The one who ends up staying on top is the new king. 

In this plein air painting from the lake, a solitary bale of hay rests atop a hill. This bale has been challenging me to paint it for some time. The best time to paint it is in the late evening when the light is the strongest, but fades fast. In the spirit of the 30 in 30 Challenge, I dared to wrestle that hill with paint. 

It was a tough fight. First of all, the sun vanished behind a cloud just as I was beginning. It returned just in time for me to record the dramatic light effects before setting for the night. The colors changed so fast. I mostly had only values to work with with fleeting moments of color checks in the setting sun. Assaulted by mosquitos and with hands covered in paint, I finally finished the painting by dusk. 

Although the bale of hay still rests at the top of the hill in this painting, I feel confident that I have overcome the challenge and won the game.


1 comment:

  1. love everything about this. We use to play that game and you have for sure won with this painting. Loving this challenge and can't wait to see more.
    peace n abundance,
    CheyAnne
    www.cheyannesexton.etsy.com

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