In No Mood to Cooperate (Sunset, Friday, 3 September 2010)

William Van Doren, In No Mood to Cooperate (Sunset from Stony Point, Albemarle County, Va.) Oil on watercolor block, 13 x 19.

The sky was in no mood to be pretty, wear something nice, or even talk. The air stayed strangely hot throughout sunset, in front of a wall of gray that the National Weather Service assures us we will experience as ‘Partly Cloudy’. The only evidence that they might not have their National completely up their Service was, I could still just see the mountains.

Sunset, Haze, and the Long Blue Cloud (Sunset, Friday, 27 August 2010)

William Van Doren, Sunset, Haze, and the Long Blue Cloud (Sunset from Stony Point, Albemarle County, Va.) Oil on watercolor block, 13 x 19.

Cloud in Front (Sunset, Wednesday, 25 August 2010)

William Van Doren, Cloud in Front (Sunset from Stony Point, Albemarle County, Va.) Oil on watercolor block, 13 x 19.

When the painting started, it was going to be about dark “shadow rays” fanning up from the horizon – shadows of clouds – paradoxically giving the impression of light rays between them. But they got increasingly brushed back as the painting developed, and it somehow became for me more or less about the cloud in front.

The Containment of Overcast (Sunset, Tuesday, 24 August 2010)

William Van Doren, The Containment of Overcast (Sunset from Stony Point, Albemarle County, Va.) Oil on watercolor block, 13 x 19.

After looking at last night’s attempt many times, as I kept passing by it, each time I had to admit: Yep, definitely airbrushed custom van material. However, I do think the experiment broke a little something loose that helped in the subsequent painting, shown here.

Variations on Gray in Search of Gray (Sunset, Monday, 23 August 2010)

William Van Doren, Variations on Gray in Search of Gray (Sunset from Stony Point, Albemarle County, Va.) Oil on watercolor block, 13 x 19.

I wasn’t sure when I started whether this sunset was going to be “Variations on Gray in Search of the Night” (which seemed kind of obvious) or maybe “Variations on Gray in Search of Peace” (precious). Decided on the title as shown.

Clouds Over Piney Mountain. Sunset, Wednesday, 18 August 2010

William Van Doren, Sunset from Stony Point, Albemarle County, Va. Oil on watercolor block, 13 x 19.

My vantage point here is a few hundred yards to the right, or north, of my usual spot, so that I could look toward the sunset and also get nearby Piney Mountain. Clouds are low – Piney Mountain’s only around 1100 feet, or less than 700 feet higher than where I’m standing – and the patch of blue is about the only break there’s been in the clouds all day. Light rain and mist.