Guess what I'm supposed to be doing?

Ah, a three day weekend.  Plenty of time for rest and relaxation.  Time to do the things that I have put off doing for myself like sunbathing, or taking a rest or… Oh, apperantly I’m supposed to be doing chores.  I am apparently supposed to take care of the yard maintenance, the vehicle maintenance, and any other “honeydew” my lovely young bride has in mind to make our humble abode more pleasant.  I pulled the lawn mower out and saw how 20+ days of rain have affected our yard and thought, “What a great painting that would make!”

compositional sketch 1

So, I ran into the house and grabbed my sketchbook.  I put the lawnmower just the way I thought it should go and walked around it for close to 30 minutes looking at it from different angles and configurations.  This was when my wife caught me.

It’s not so much that she was mad at me, she really wasn’t even frustrated at me.  She just managed to give me a look of disbelief.  One of those looks that makes you feel guilty that you’re not doing what’s expected of you.  She brought me a hat and my mini-sketch book and said, “That would make a nice painting.”  That’s just one of the MANY reasons I love her.

comp. sketch 2

comp sketch 3

comp. sketch

color study

Finally, I broke out the mini-sketch book to make this color study.  As I was finishing it up, I could hear the thunder.  I looked up to see scattered clouds on an otherwise gloriously sunny day.  I grabbed my camera phone and snapped a photo of the final layout.  Ten minutes later it started raining in what we call locally rain-shine.  That’s when you’re standing in direct sunlight and still get a soaking.  I probably should have mowed the lawn at some point.  But I believe it will make an EXCELLENT painting.