2020
The afternoon light in winter has always been a favorite of mine to paint. Winters in Athens have a cleaner light, with less humidity to see through, but very rarely any snow. Shadows are sharper and their lower angles appeal to me. This old barrel rusts away in my woods, left there years ago. It has beautiful colors in different times of day or when it's wet or dry, but the raking afternoon light just warmed it up so nicely. I was looking for the right time to paint this barrel and the trees next to it for quite a while. I've drawn it and photographed it in the early morning, and later in the morning when the sun breaks through to it. But with the woods clear of leaves in the winter when the low afternoon light can reach this side of the barrel it really brings it, and the trees, out.