The artwork of Eric McLean

View Towards Carbon Canyon

8" x 5" watercolor on 4-ply plate bristol

(plein air sketch)

I love this view which is very close to my home in Yorba Linda, CA.  The weather was very quick to change as it was windy and partly cloudy.  I'm still trying to get the hang of the medium and in this case was surprised at how long it took for each layer to dry.  I've committed to paint in a transparent (traditional) fashion for a while to take advantage of the beautiful translucent quality of the medium.   This "waiting to dry" time was to my advantage as I was able to really just observe and mentally record the different light and shade patterns which were constantly changing before me.  It was a glorious day though I've been frustrated many times trying to paint in such weather.