mixed plein air/studio painting

I had spent hours at different locations and I did not find anything I wanted to paint. Finally I found this view as the sun was setting behind me. I was standing on a pier and I couldn't find a way to set up my pochade box with clear sight. Determined to paint the view, I did 2 pencil drawings on one 6" x 8" and one 9" x 12" panel, with slightly different compositions. I also wrote down colour notes of what I was seeing, and just spent time standing there and trying to soak it all in, know the photographs can only record so much.

A few days later I painted over the drawings, using the colour notes, photographs as well as memory. I was happy with the results as they felt to me like I had painted them on the pier. If you look closely you can see the pencil drawing underneath the painting.

Timber rafts on the Fraser river #1 - oil on panel - 6" x 8"

Timber rafts on the Fraser river # 2 - oil on panel - 9" x 12"

 The reason I did the drawing then, was because I knew a photo would distort the lines. If I just did the drawing from the photograph, the end result would look more photo-like, and not as life-like.