Trying to be subtle

January on Cherrywood
acrylic on canvas
8 x 8 inches
Barbara Muir © 2010
(Photographed this outside today.
Turns out it's quite different looking than
the image I posted last night. I have
to remember that phenomenon.)

I do not have much a reputation for subtlety
in my paintings, but the view out my window
these days is frequently pretty dark and grey.
Not being a fan of grey I've avoided even
looking at that view, preferring my bright yellow,
red and turquoise walls (yep -- the colours I
usually paint with.) But I wondered what it would
be like to paint the street as seen from my window
where I write this blog. So tonight I rolled up
my sleeves, pulled out my grey and dug in.

Now of course the orange ground leaps through,
and I couldn't stay entirely true to the colour.
Looking closely at the reference photo I took
to help me, I see that our neighbourhood trees
are going crazy. In fact it's been a bit too warm,
and they may be getting ready to bud. Slow
down trees!

So here's the result. A bit drear, but not quite
as gloomy as it really appears.

Have a painting-what-you-see day.