Field with a Stream in Rappahannock Valley

Oil on Gessoed Archival Rag board laid down on same,
5 11/2" x 4 1/4" $40.00 SOLD

This is a scene in Rappahannock County, on the way
to the Blue Ridge. From a photo again. But, I don't
feel bad about it. Sometimes I find I can be more
imaginative when working from a photo than when
working from life. The memory comes into play,
and also there is a freedom to work with color that
the overwhelming presence of Nature sometimes
stifles in me.

I know Degas rarely worked outside,
and he is one of my idols. So, I guess if it was good
enough for him, it's good enough for me. I know that
when he died his family found boxes of photos in
his apartment - some of a nature they were not
so happy with, so they threw them out. Many were
photos he had taken himself.

I was quite happy with this small picture. It gives me the
same feeling that I have when I am out in the country, so
I must have caught something about the lanscape.
It makes me happy, and that is good.