Day 51: Hazy Morning, Florence
Waking up early this morning and seeing the haze hanging low over the city, I knew that I would have to look for a composition to suit this weather, I couldn’t just pick anything to paint today. Although I know it well, I’ve never painted this morning haze. I associate it with Florence, and more summer than any other time of year. You know it’s going to be an unbearably hot day here when that smoggy haze is hanging on the horizon. I rode my bike over to one of the bridges and found it to be a perfect spot to go down on the river to get a view of the city.
At first I felt a little frantic, trying to get it all down as quickly as possible in fear of the hazy effect vanishing. But it did stay long enough to paint, and it was completely foreign, I’ve never painted this kind of light before. Standing down by the water, the reflection of that white sky was nearly blinding. I also don’t think I’ve ever painted a sky without any blue in it before and was constantly mixing and remixing trying to figure out how to handle the palette of this particular light effect. I went back and forth between putting only blues in the mix to adding some warm reds and yellows, I just wasn’t sure and so had to rely on my instincts about how to mix the palette. Now I’m curious to go and look at Whistler and Monet and their famous foggy morning paintings to see how they handled the situation. Even if smoggy haze in Florence isn’t really the same as fog on the Thames, it does result in a similar effect.
It’s mornings like these, when I find myself in a situation that is not predictable, where I have no precedence to go on, that I feel like I’m really learning to paint, no matter the final result. The effort of being there and figuring it out in the moment lets me know that I’m evolving. And I’ve gotta appreciate mother nature, she’s always keeping me on my toes! The more I paint the more I realize that there is no arriving. What I mean is that there is no place that once I get there that I will then be a painter and understand how to paint any and every situation, so then I can just sit back and relax making dozens of masterpieces. Instead I’m realizing that the whole act of painting is an experiment, a never ending journey, so expecting to arrive at some kind of final understanding can only lead to frustration and disappointment. If instead I keep in mind that as long as I paint I will be learning to paint, then I can relax and concentrate and not worry that everyone else has got it all figured out besides me.
Who knows if I would have really taken on painting if someone had told me this ahead of time, but I’m already in the game now, so why not play?
To buy this painting for $100 or view it on my website, click here. To view or buy other paintings from the 100 day project, click here
All paintings are 6×8”, painted on birch, are unframed and cost $100 (+$15 shipping). They can be bought directly from my website using paypal or you can contact me at kellyaskey@gmail.com
If you know someone that you would like to share this project with, you can suggest that they join the E Newsletter here. They can also follow along on the Blog site here or at the 100 Paintings Facebook Group here.
Thank you for following the project and for sharing it. Having you to share it with has really got me inspired!