Last Light Study

"Palouse Sunset" oil, 8"x10"
©2014 Diana Moses Botki

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This piece is one I painted en plein air a few months ago. I'd driven out looking for a good spot to paint, pulled over a couple of times, then changed my mind and drove on, looking for something to catch my eye.

The light was going fast, so I parked my van and got my paints out to catch the sunset light on the Palouse hills. But then I turned around and saw the sun peeking through that tree and knew I had to try capturing the contrasts and color.

As sometimes happens when painting at the end of day, the light simply disappears. At such times, one is left nearly painting in the dark. Colors are especially difficult to judge. Edges are too, with fading eyesight and failing light. And there is no snapping a photo reference for later reference, as it is an exercise in futility.

So, I've been revisiting this study off and on for several months, fixing an odd shape here or there and evaluating the piece, trying to remember the colors while I was there. And so, here it is, the impression of the moment that caught my eye.