"Fogged Inn" oil 6 x 8

Monhegan is gray this week.  Gray, foggy, occasional drizzle, yellow fog, blue fog, green fog, thin fog, thick fog... interesting.  It feels like a good week to read, hunker under a blanket, play games, drink tea, chat with friends, sketch ... but it's a great week to paint!  Painted on Fish Beach today, looking at the foggy Monhegan "skyline" across the beach.  Here's a few images of the painting.  My plan was to block in a foggy mass for the distant buildings including the iconic Island Inn with its cupola.  I like painting, holding a brush filled with paint against the subject to match color and value.  I massed in about 5 shapes of flat color to start.  The two photos below were taken at different stages; you can see how much the fog lifted.  Lots more detail became available in the distant buildings. 

When painting a moving target, such as sun and shadows, fog, clouds, waves, anything that is dynamic rather than static - you need to decide how much you will be willing to change from your original plan.  My default mode, today being no different, is to stick with the starting plan.  That's not a rule.  It's a suggestion. Is changing the plan based on changing conditions going to improve your painting?  If so, feel free. Make your choice with intentionality.  

In the case of "Fogged Inn", I kept the fog.  I was intrigued by the foggy silhouette.  The painting is almost finished, but the afternoon weather played out as FOG, fog, cloudy & gray, fog, sprinkle, RAIN!  I packed up at RAIN... as usual, I'll take a look at the painting over the next few hours and make a few adjustments.  I plan to do a little bit more modelling in the foggy distance.

Thanks for looking!  Please consider leaving me a comment.  I enjoy reading your thoughts.