Yuba Blue in November

On this fine sunny cold day I decided to paint once again along the North Yuba river. I was hoping for fall colors but as you can see all the leaves are gone. Bringing in some color in a scene like this can be difficult especially with this much sun. The surrounding foliage did have touches of reds and orange that I knew would be perfect for getting the creative juices moving. I appreciated the rich blues in those far mountains but I wanted the river to be my focus.

When I have so much going on in what I am looking at I grab onto what interests me at the moment and start setting up my composition. Today I wasn’t too concerned on a focal point but rather I allowed the focal point to “come forth” and sure enough it did.

My painting approximately 75% done. I have some work to do on those rocks, especially the rocks to the right, I don’t want them to look like muffins. I decided not to finish the rocks to completion on the bottom left to give more of an impressionistic look because I feel that the water is the star.

I worked on Sansfix pastel paper and I had forgotten how much I love it. I can’t find it anywhere except in Canada. I have already contacted the company to see if or where I can buy it. The color of the substrate is charcoal gray and has an extremely rough texture like sandpaper. I especially enjoyed painting the water. As I painted I saw a Blue Heron fly right past me and down the river, what an exciting moment!

 Stepping back to give you the view of my easel and scene. I was excited when I discovered this spot which is handicapped accessible. I have been down to this area on the river but not to this spot and I was pleasantly surprised by the view. I couldn’t ask for better weather. By 1 pm the cold starting rolling in and by 2 pm it was changing quite a bit. Sundown on the river is earlier than most places because of the canyon.

My second painting of the day. This is new for me in plein air painting and that is to paint two paintings in a session. I start out with a larger painting which is about 11 x 14 and my smaller painting is usually about 9 x 12. I paint the larger one first because I am fresh and because usually the lighting is better. The second painting is always just as fun but thank goodness it is smaller because by the time I am done, I am tired.

All my areas I paint I have to lug my equipment at least several hundred yards but never more than a 1/4 mile. With this scene, it was tricky because of the shadows of the rocks and that alcove was subtle. The trick was to make the foliage stay back even though there were some highlights. As I painted I had to make decisions on how to bring my scene to life amid such shadows and limited lighting. I threw myself into the task and allowed the painting to “pave” the way. This view here was very dark and had touches of light hitting and I had to get a move on it before it was in full sun!

My painting. I will decide on how much I want to work on the background and to work more on those rocks, especially on the left because there was little light on that spot even though my photo shows quite a bit.