Fall Effect

After so many years painting I like to think I know what I'm doing in my studio practice. However, there are times when the medium balks at my intentions and simply wants to play. It's almost like speaking English one moment and Mandarin the next. In this case I was confidently executing layers mid-way through this work when the painting suddenly spoke a different visual language that what I had been seeing. I was so taken aback at that moment that I stopped working, poured a good bourbon and contemplated my artistic fate. Some days later I realized that the change agent wasn't just the medium, but also the season. Fall is edging closer by the day, and as my favorite time of the year it always affects me subconsciously. I remembered that on that faithful painting day the air was cool, leaves were rustling, and I had noticed the Goldenrod was beginning to dot around the chicory... subliminally causing fall brain! After that the subject just flowed from brush to canvas creating an energy full of movement and life.