Unexpected

Unexpected

8x8"

oil on board
© Nicki Ault, 2011 
sold

I was at the studio a few times this week and it felt great. I felt energized after my little trip and was ready to tackle an idea I've had in my head since last spring. I took several reference photos about a year ago when I was out plein air painting in the early morning hours on a weekend scrapbooking retreat... you can read about my adventures (or should I say misadventures) here. I used these reference photos for this weeks work. On this particular weekend last year the weather had warmed up and most of the snow had melted leaving lots of water behind in low spots. The reflection of the sky in these small bodies of water was spectacular. I was especially fascinated with this unexpected colour in the fields and grid roads. Vibrant blues were laying where they shouldn't be- within the golden yellows of the cut back crops and within in the dull brown dirt roads. I couldn't drink the scenery in fast enough. As you can see in "Unexpected", I loved how the dirt was so dark brown, almost black, closest to the puddle and then so much lighter further away. 

This is the first of four small paintings I did this week which may end up being studies for larger work. The next few posts will show you more of what I loved on that spring day in 2010.