Bend In The River

The Lamoille River offers all kinds of painting possibilities. Many of them in view right from the road. This particular view is right off Pumpkin Harbor Road in Cambridge, less than a mile from town. I've passed it many times, but on this particular day the light was late in the summer sky and the field on the town side of the river had been cut and rolled to dry. I like the lines created by this drying hay, mimicing the bend in the river. I was attracted to the multiple textures from sky and water to fields and trees this painting presented. Often summer scenes have too much green to make a good painting, but the reflected sky, drying hay, and deep shadows created a fuller palette of colors to paint. My summer palette typically has Cadmium Yellow, Yellow Ochre, Ultramarine Blue, Cerulean Blue, Paynes Grey and a red. In this case Terra Rosa. I mix my greens with the blues, and yellows. Sometimes adding a lighter yellow to the palette for this purpose. Overall I really like both this scenes and this painting. I may have to revisit it this winter in deep snow.