The Sunday over Memorial Day Weekend I woke up with a desire to paint outdoors. I made a coffee, packed up my supplies, sent out a few messages to friends, and headed out to the park. I decided on my favorite spot in Central Park, Sheep Meadow.

This was my third  Sheep Meadow painting.  Each time I have painted a different corner.

The northeast corner is the latest in the series.

So let’s get to the painting…

Started off with some yellow spots of sun and magenta in the sky.  Very loose brush marks as I feel out the space and how the paint is going to behave in this weather.

Some dark marks form the structure of the tree in the foreground and the pull of the trees in the distant background.

Defining the layers of depth in the painting.  The ground starts to solidify, establishing some gravity.

The top of the painting opens up like a breath of fresh air with the addition of blue.  The rock, a key moment in the painting takes shape.  Notice one of my happy friends in the lower left having a beer and hanging out.

A little resolution in every part of the painting.  It’s at a moment like this that I realize where the painting is really going.

Time to define the depth of the tree on the left.  Filling out the grass in the foreground stretches the space.

It’s all about the leaves in the trees at this stage.  The individual leaf is as important as the role it plays in relation to the other leaves around it.  Finishing touches to the purple lilacs are followed by the final touches on the left tree.

Fin.

Previous Sheep Meadow paintings: