Plein Air on the Deschutes

I just returned from a week of plein air painting on the Deschutes River in Eastern Oregon.  It was 105 degrees - really hot and dry!!   Between jumps in the river I managed to do a couple of oil sketches.

My very limited palette consisting of the following:
titanium white
yellow ochre
Indian red
ultramarine blue
permanent alizarin crimson
cadmium yellow medium
viridian green
ivory black

All of my panels were toned medium gray which I do not recommend for plein air.  It's nice to be able to do an underpainting first and to be able to choose a color, say, a warmish red or reddish-yellow, that goes with the overall feeling of the light.  In this case the light is very golden on the eastern shores of the state and the gray tone did not help emphasize this.   Next time I"ll head out with un-toned white panels and I'll have more flexibility to respond to the conditions at hand.  Live and learn!

Here are the paintings:

This first one is the boat we use to cross the river.  It is attached to an overhead cable and if you squint into the painting you can just make out the purple-colored cable overhead.

Boat Crossing 8x10 Oil on panel

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On this day it was 105 degrees!  I sat in the shade of the cabin to paint the view looking upriver through the trees.

River Sense 8x10 Oil on panel

 Sitting under a tree with my feet in the river I managed to stay out of the sun the whole time painting this one. 

River Sense 8x10 Oil on panel

Stay tuned for more works from the Deschutes River!  There is so much to paint (and draw) there!!!!!