The new studio oil also has the rhythms of the storms that flow through the foothills and the peach tree. Now is the time to do small abstract studies of pattern and color to explore other interpretations of the subject. The process of writing descriptions reinforces my memory and the slides that I took echo ideas that raced through my mind while I painted the original field studies. Now there's time to explore other approaches. The concept of atmospheric perspective dominates my work . . .
Atmosphere also creates the mood of a painting . . .
I find that it requires considerable control of value and color. Every object is affected by the air around it, and the light bouncing off the air is just as important as the light bouncing off the object. While I do respond to, and paint, the subtle colors of the mountain, I am inclined to use brighter colors in the studio, just to explore pattern possibilities. Pattern is the underlying concept that is the skeleton for all my other ideas. The watercolor studies completed in my studio are small vignettes painted to examine forms and patterns.