October 27th 2016
Cogswell’s Grant, Essex MA
Oil on un-primed canvas, 12 x 16 in

I was at Cogswell’s Grant to lead the workshop that high winds had curtailed on Sunday. The weather was not windy but rain was imminent and as a result, very few people could make it. As a result of THAT, I got to spend some time painting. I didn’t have any canvas with me, until I remembered a little painting I had done as a demo a week before. I decided to paint on the inside/back, the unprimed side of the canvas. I have struggled with fall paintings in the past, and I wanted to try again.

The paint quickly was absorbed by the cotton duck, which meant I couldn’t get much texture out of the paint – but I worked with the circumstances I had. I layered colors until the fabric had saturated, and then skimmed what I could on the surface. It was liberating to work with a different surface, and I enjoyed the process very much. The product I’m happy with too. They call them fall “tones,” which is right, because on quiet grey days you can hear the purity of color ringing brightly against the muddied, muffled drone of dying leaves.