Long Shadows

Sunrise is late here in France, at least to someone who lived on the US east coast. There, we were near the eastern edge of the time zone where the sun rises about an hour earlier than at the western edge. Here, we're near the western edge of a very wide time zone. This morning, at about 8:30, the sun was just starting to peek over the treetops - hence the long shadows from these trees. I'm not complaining; I love having those long shadows to paint. And I don't have to get up very early to see them. Next week, dawn will come even later, since we'll then turn the clocks forward on Sunday. If I continue to get up a the same time (somewhat unlikely!) I can paint pre-dawn scenes.

This painting was done on a toned ground, a medium shade of muddy brown, because this was done with all the paint I scraped off the painting of two days ago. I do like working into a toned ground; it just seems to make everything come together cohesively. The colors I used in this painting were just ultramarine blue, cadmium yellow medium and a tiny bit of carmine. And white of course. I also like working with a very limited palette. If I put out too many colours, I don't know what to do with them!