An English sky. Anytime I see a lot of activity in the sky I always think to myself “an English sky!” like the kind that Constable, Stobart and Seago used to paint with such a great degree of mastery. Usually it is just wishful thinking on my part. However this past Saturday bought just that kind of sky and I grabbed my gear late in the afternoon to set out to paint it.

Because I live on the North Shore of Long Island, NY it is not too difficult to find an unobstructed view of the sky. It is an island and we are surrounded by water so that long flat horizons are easily come by. But there is one spot that I go back to again and again because it just says Long Island to me and this is the spot I chose to paint my sky from. I have painted here before and I will paint here again. The view means something to me. Near the end, when I was about to start packing up, the sun dropped below the clouds and caused all the boats in the harbor to positively glow. I was thankful to be there at that moment.

On Sunday I had the pleasure of teaching a one day workshop out at Caumsett State Park. Arranged by Lori Hochberg at The Village Artist in Huntington, NY, we had a nice sized group of people who were interested to learn. We also had great weather and I think a good time was had by all. Here are a couple of pictures from the event as well as my morning demo.Many thanks to Robin Pedersen for the progress shots.

A red monochromatic underpainting.

Getting in a little true color and value

Closing in on the finish

And here is the final painting which I call "Caumsett Top Light"

Following are a couple of shots of the students enjoying the day. At the moment they are enjoying themselves because I am taking pictures and not criticizing their work!

Three plein air painters in the field

Lisa sketching

Note that all of these small sketches are available for sale directly from me via this website. Simply click on the “Paintings and Prints” tab and then on “Available Paintings”. The price includes shipping costs.