I had thought this view wouldn't be too different with the lighting change for the duration of the 3 hours we had to paint. What I forgot to think ahead on though was the raising tide and this had tricked me in the end by the shifting the placement of the docks and boats against my original placement. The shadows did some changing and the boats and their facing shade sides deepened in value but the shift with the tide created a drawing adjustment I seemed unable to chase down. Like chasing the sun one shouldn't try to chase shifting docks.

I tried mostly to maintain some defining shapes to the cluster of boats but I think I should have just simplified the whole scene. I used the full 3 hours but had lots of time to relax into my process and step away for short breaks. Beautiful glorious sunning day, it was a joy to be out there despite some small frustrations and anxious moments of the challenge.

I picked up my painting at Opus Langley this weekend and took photos of the piece. After not seeing it for a week I can be a little more objective towards it. I had an interesting response to it as my memory of it was that it was more lively and brighter then I found it. I did however get back to liking it after editing the photo to post here and making sure the photo matched the painting. 
The day had been grey and I painted it to maintain a subtly of colour and develop the warm and cool aspects to work off each other. This had been my main objective of the painting so when I remembered it as being much brighter this may have been the trick of painting it outdoors then bringing it inside, the paintings never look quite as bright. In this case I didn't try to push the saturation of the hues but tried to capture them and values as I saw them and played with the alternating warm and tool tones. I had thought it wouldn't jump out after I brought it inside and I also didn't think it had a chance of winning anything. The staff had said that there had been a lot of positive feedback so this makes me feel pretty good and I'm still very thrilled to have won.

I've started a new series of plein air paintings along the Pitt River. My first efforts this early spring were at the duck pond in Colony Farm Regional Park just down the road from me now I'll work my way up and down the Pitt River.