12" x 16" oil painting "Cloudburst" and the joys of painting in the zone

Cloudburst
by Mark Nesmith
Oil on Canvas
12" x 16"
2015

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I'm a sucker for a good light show, and some of my favorite moments include the rays of a new sun bursting through the clouds. This painting was finished it two short sessions on the same day. I wanted to keep the freshness and spontaneity of the brushwork and colors in the clouds to have the feeling that the sun is exploding to life in the morning sky. This was one of those little gifts that just seemed to paint itself. The best moments as a painter are when you just kind of zone out and disappear from yourself and let the brush do its magic.