The Extraordinary Ordinary

Along the Shore, originally uploaded by Mark Nesmith Fine Art.

Like most landscape painters, I love the early morning and late evening light for their spectacular colors, warm tonality, and unifying effect. With amazing sunrises and sunsets everyday, sometimes it's tempting to only paint during those times. Sometimes I have to remind myself that there's beautiful light around us all day long. I think the afternoon with its contrast of blue sky and light clouds and full, green foliage can sometimes be a little more challenging to paint. Everyone thinks a sunset is spectacular, but not too many people notice what's around us the rest of the time. This is a view along the shore at Lake Mineral Wells in the afternoon. I think the viewpoint adds to the interest, as does the sky mainly appearing in the water. To tame down the green of all that foliage, I tried to introduce subtle hints of violets and dull reds and pinks. The clouds themselves are a very lightly tinted pink. While the color here is not as spectacular and over-the-top as it would have been later that evening, I think there's something to be said for the subtle beauty and reflective quality of my afternoon stroll along the lake.