Tuesday, February 23, 2010

"Two Friends"



Oil on canvas panel - 8x8
Completed 2-23-2010
SOLD

I have painted these two palms a number of times. They stand in a hammock in the salt marsh near the Ft. George Inlet from the St. John's River. They interested me because the taller tree is straight while the shorter one has a graceful curve. In the autumn, the salt marsh changes from green and gray to golden and red. The broken clouds diffuse the usually bright sun in the afternoon.

I used a simple pallet of primary colors, viridian, and burnt umber. The darkest values are a mix of ultramarine blue and alizarin crimson. I changed the composition and the colors a number of times in order to get the feeling I wanted. The impression I tried to convey is of the two palm trees that stand together in the vast expanse of marsh and sky.

Like some of my other small works, I worked on this panel intermittently over several days, so it really doesn't qualify for a "painting-in-a-day."

Rick Petersen

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