"April Shower"

I love clear views through windows... dirty ones just annoy me, and I have to get a cloth and cleaner to remedy any such situation. But I also love the view through a window when the outside is splashed and streaked with rain, distorting the view into something quite abstract. The painting here was inspired by such a scenario... it wasn't done from real life but from a lasting impression in my mind. I used a sheet of Canson "Imagine" from an A1-size pad (84 x 59.4 cm) and quickly painted a ground of soft blue and white - for an impression of sky and clouds - then added a strong red and indigo as a contrast, plus muted green for imaginary garden foliage, before attacking the composition with splashes and drips from a very wet brush for the effects of rain.