Open Late – Sunset, Wednesday, 19 June 2013

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

The difference between 8:37 and 8:41 p.m. was remarkable, as the sky opened up, although the mountains were still mostly covered. This was a case where the practice of doing a smaller oil sketch at sunset and letting the experience of both the sunset and the first painting sort of ferment helped create something that felt both more conscious and more spontaneous.