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Reflections: I had a lot of fun with this one.  I intentionally chose a different composition for me.  It was an excuse to play around with paint - wet into wet.  A different composition, imaginary, but also realistic - based on trips to the Kancamagus Highway over the past three decades.  The genesis of this painting was actually a trip to Bear Notch road over twenty years ago.

   

Reflections provide an endless subject matter for painting and expand the painting beyond the canvas.  Changing skies and changing light, the depth and speed of running water, what's beneath the water's surface, waterfalls, wind all effect what reflections are visible.  I'm also intrigued by the transient nature of reflections.  I've found they require quick painting and loose brushstrokes while trying to capture them in the moment- but that is likely just a personal preference.

If you spend enough time studying reflections in nature - it can lead to some humorous moments.  On more than one occasion I've noticed a small group has formed near me staring at the water - trying to locate what I was staring at.  

Monet visited, revisited, and reworked his water lilies paintings for the last 12 years of his life - more than proving the endless possibilities provided by one environment and an artists dedication to fully exploring and interpreting a single subject.  Andrew Wyeth returned to familiar places and subjects often, yet his explorations yielded an incredibly rich and varied body of work.

Paint what interests and excites you.  It will speak to you and others.  Don't take my word for it.

"An artists best chance to produce something which pleases others - is to produce something that pleases them."

                                                                                                                                                                                                Frank W. Benson