Almost Autumn

I had previously painted a pastel version of this view (near Dillon Falls in Bend, OR) and had a block-in of an oil version started, with both demonstrated for a workshop in 2024. As I often do when I teach both oil and pastel in the same 3-day workshop, I did a full demo in one medium and a smaller block-in of the alternate medium that same day, and then the reverse on the next day. Since that workshop, I had the 8x10 oil block-in sitting in my studio for quite a while, and always thought the initial composition was a strong one. When asked to do a short demo for a collector gathering at Mockingbird Gallery, I knew this would be the perfect subject. Keeping the same general color palette that I used in the pastel version, which I was quite happy with, this little one came together fairly quickly.