Private collection
 
My thanks to the collector that purchased the 1st work from this series on the day it was completed!
 
About this oil: 
Monet said, “I wasted a lot of paint.” 
 
It’s the same for me and over the years I kept telling myself to get a small canvas, take whatever oil colors are left on the palette at the end of the day and use them to block in a new painting. It wouldn’t be about accuracy or preciseness, but to simply make a new start, any start instead of tossing out all of those wonderful colors each day.
 
This internal conversation has been going on for years without my having anything to show for that valid idea. What has been typically happening over the years is that at the end of my painting sessions, I’m pretty tired and not feeling sharp enough to continue on and give the idea a try. 
 
Finally, I was determined to make something happen and set out a blank 36 x 36 canvas and 24 x 24 wood panel and placed them in the studio where they stared me down for a week. The day finally came and after working on three large canvases, I had a lot of paint left on the palette. It wasn’t that late in the day so I took a quick break and afterward, quickly painted designs onto the new canvas and panel.
 
After that initial session I continued on, keeping the painting fresh, refrained from adding small details and eliminated the distracting ones. I focused on improving the oil by working the foreground and background colors, variations to the tree trunks and adding a slant to the land at the bottom for a better composition and to add depth.
 
All the time I stayed focused to the original premise, trying out different colors, pressing the more abstract ideas.
 
The title came to me as this oil neared completion and since I’m committed to doing more, it is the 1st of the series, Improv Landscape.
 
The result is better than I set out to do and I get to declare that not any paint was harmed in the making of this artwork.