Another Day Comes to Rest Painting

I love water, boats, sunsets, marinas and a good glass of wine. Who doesn't? Combined with one of my favorite locations in the Midwest is Door County, Wisconsin. In that sliver of country is the town of Fish Creek, a quaint little touristy haunt filled with shops, restaurants, sailors and a great little marina. I would visit Door with my wife many a summer or autumn. One annual Door County Plein Air Festival took me there during late June for a quick paint event. Looking for subject matter is not a problem and the night before the event I was at the marina watching the sun go down. Snap a few pics at just the right moment- those few minutes when the sun touches and then sinks below the horizon. The sky lit up with hues of orange, red and yellow. The boats sat still against the water that reflected the sky. Awesome. One of those moments that make up your life. Back in the studio, it's easy to paint something you love. This one has a combination of initial washes of thin oil paint to establish basic shapes. Let that dry and then lay in the sky. Kept it loose with general depictions of various boats. I finished with some palette knife work for the foreground water reflections and vertical strokes for masts and other highlights. If you love sunsets and boats, this painting can bring some of your favorites things to life every day you look at it.