Dog Park

Here is my first "plein air" landscape. For the first two weeks of this painting, I went on location at Paoli Battlefield Park to paint and compose this canvas for about one hour every other day...

At the end of the two weeks, I took photos of the park from where I sat, let the painting dry, and polished up some minor things at the end using the photos I had taken. I worked on it (meaning, dabbling without really seriously painting for a long stretch) all throughout the winter and finished it early February. Because of my poor timekeeping skills on this one, I'm not sure how long it took, but I'd put it at the 10-20 hour range.

This painting may be called "Dog Park" only because most of the neighborhood walks their dogs in this park (and some of the dogs tried to eat my paint!), but also I run here at 4:30 in the morning. This place has a personal feeling of "mine" like very few places in my life, I think because I spend so many hours of my free time there.

Anyhow it is not morning time I painted here, but just at the moment before sunset.... when the sky is still bright and happy, but in any moment you feel it will turn brilliantly bloody purple.

This is already shipped and sent, so I am welcoming critiques mostly to learn more for the next time I paint plein air (I have four small canvases planned for this spring).

Stats:
Medium: Windsor & Newton prof. series oils on canvas
Size: 8"x10" or 20cmx25cm
Time: unknown
Refs: mostly from life, but also from this series: [link]
And a photo of it framed: [link]
Details and info on my blog: [link]
Owner: Daniel Alekow, aka `memod

Note: If you use and care about open spaces and "undeveloped" historical memorials and parks near you, please ensure they stick around by being aware of politics in your community and speaking out if necessary. Pennsylvania has nearly lost many of its community parks, and without the insistence of its ordinary citizens, we may just have lost this park and other memorials like the Wayne War Memorial.