Afternoon Light

I love the hues the sun creates on the landscape during late afternoon hours.

Longer shadows mean more excitement in a painting, as cool shadow colors contrast with those where the heat is still lingering in the the sun drenched landscape.

This scene is in the mountainous region of Mascota, not far form Puerto Vallarta, in western, central Mexico. There are volcanos everywhere.

My painting buddy and I had been searching for a good spot to capture the warm afternoon glow on the mountains, driving up and down a little dirt road, when we happened upon this place. Almost as soon as we had set up, cattle come around the corner, right at us, and they probably wondered what we were doing there. They left soon, of course, but not before we got a few snapshots for future studio paintings.

Atmosphere

At the end of the rainy season in central Mexico, wildflowers appear just about everywhere. This landscape is in Jalisco, near a quaint little town, called Tapalpa.

Moisture still hangs in the air after one of the last downpours in October, but the sun is coming through to illuminate patches of flowers and the vibrant green of the high grasses.

I have painted years ago in almost the same spot, but every season the flowers form other color patterns and, depending on the atmospheric condition, everything looks different every day.

Mexican Pacific

I can't believe how long I have not posted anything. I have painted a lot though in that time, but have been slow photographing the new pieces. Here's one, it's called Playa Los Cocos.

The moment I saw the evening light on that scene, I knew I had to paint it. Colors and shadows were changing rapidly and I had to come back to finish the painting the following evening.

Capturing the angle and temperature of the light is extremely important for a successful landscape painting, all the shapes and colors depend on those two qualities. It makes me feel warm just looking at this scene of the Mexican Pacific coast - kind of nice, now that the temperatures have dropped!