Hope for Summer

Plein air painting at Castaway Island Preserve, Jacksonville.

I only had a couple of hours in which to work, and this park is about 5 miles from my house, so it was a logical choice.  When I arrived, the tide was low and coming in, but the sky was overcast which rendered everything in shades of gray with very little value contrast or change in hue.  The only exceptions to the sameness in value were the dark cedars that populate the salt marsh.

I took considerable license with this composition pulling elements from various parts of the vista and eliminating many others.  I punched the color to show the summer greens and lavenders that are emerging.  The tide was still coming in, so I lifter the water level to high tide in order to make full use of the reflections in the water.