A Memorial Day Sunset

"Memorial Day Sunset" 8x10 oil on panel

      Last night was a super windy one but we were treated to a beautiful sunset here on the Outer Banks. I had my tripod and pochade box all set up on the deck and just waited for the moment to start. This was painted very quickly between 7:00 and 8:00 PM. I had to hold on to the lid of the box to keep the panel from rattling back and forth due to the heavy winds. I laughed at myself when I came indoors because I could have stood in the bedroom window and painted in comfort. For some reason I felt I had to persevere outdoors. I am really not that much of a purist.
      Except for picking out some "stuff" the wind plastered in the titanium white I don't plan on retouching this. I would rather preserve the spontaneity warts and all.  I used to paint a lot of sunsets but haven't done one in a while and it was fun. They are great for loosening up because all you can do is capture the essence of it and move the paint around intuitively. The light and cloud movement changes much too quickly.

      Here is my set up. I am a little sorry I didn't paint in the flag as I did in the painting I posted from that spot earlier. Adjusting the red and blue would have been interesting!