In the stillness,......

Morning Slivers, Costa Rica, 2014

Looks like I have a series on my hands. I've been painting these little seating areas since my last trip to Costa, in 2013. I have a background in textiles, and enjoy the juxtaposition of intense bright colours of the cushions, in contrast to the mixed and somewhat neutralized tones of the wall, topped off with a sliver of light, creating it's own gradual change in light. Love creating that effect!
In this pic, I also have the light, just outside of the Casa Grande, creating an overall sense of light. You must consider the whole picture plane, when planning a painting. That's why I am so big on the thumbnail. It helps you plan, and anticipate any potential problems in the composition, before you even start painting. I'm loving these adobe like structures that say hey!--Why does a wall have to be straight, even and perfect. Let's be curvy when you least expect it. In the Casa Grande at Montana Azul all these edges are asymmetrical, and very pleasing to the eye.
Another thing I love to do in pastel is play warm and cool colours off each other. Here, I think the deep orange colour in the wall is giving a sense of heat, while all the blues neutralize it to some extent, which allows the orange a more subtle say, no shouting here.
Any paintings you see here from my trips are all painted in an hour or less. You get a few things from this. There is a bit of an unfinished look, yes, but also a freshness you just can't get out of deliberate and intense studio pieces. Figured that out about plein air, years ago.
I did a search of my blog, and can't find the original seating area with sun (2013), so I will post them in the next few days. I think there are three like this one.