A Not Entirely Wasted Day – Sunset, Saturday, 15 December 2012

William Van Doren, A NOT ENTIRELY WASTED DAY. Sunset from Stony Point, Albemarle County, Va. Oil on watercolor block, 13 x 19.

I thought of the title when the sun broke through beneath the clouds. The phrase concludes an anecdote that a Scottish friend told me when we were both in L.A., and since then, every so often, he just repeats the punchline. But in fact I never understood the anecdote because I couldn’t follow his accent! David in County Limerick, this is for you, with my apologies.

Home Before Dark – Sunset/Twilight, Friday, 14 December 2012

William Van Doren, HOME BEFORE DARK. Sunset from Stony Point, Albemarle County, Va. Oil on watercolor block, 13 x 19.

Space Mountains – Sunset/Twilight, Thursday, 13 December 2012

William Van Doren, SPACE MOUNTAINS. Sunset from Stony Point, Albemarle County, Va. Oil on watercolor block, 13 x 19.

The Twelfth of Never, Evermore – Sunset (Second Version), Wednesday, 12 December 2012

William Van Doren, THE TWELFTH OF NEVER, EVERMORE. Sunset from Stony Point, Albemarle County, Va. Oil on watercolor block, 13 x 19.

A second version of 12-12-12. Wasn’t it the great Ernie Banks who said “Let's paint two!”? . . . O.K., maybe not . . .

The Twelfth of Never – Sunset, Wednesday, 12 December 2012

William Van Doren, THE TWELFTH OF NEVER. Sunset from Stony Point, Albemarle County, Va. Oil on watercolor block, 13 x 19.

Immediately after watching the sunset, and before painting, I posted this on The Very Rich Hours Facebook page:

Just a note in passing, in case I'm never heard from again after tonight: As people who live around here may attest, I just witnessed the most strangely beautiful, or beautifully strange, sunset I can remember. And, of course, I have seen a few. Wish me luck, because it was the kind of sky that could make a painter consider turning in their badge. I'm not sure a painting can come near it, but we'll see, soon enough.

The number of people who commented on this, and the fact that many of them had seen the same sunset and were waiting for the painting, points up something I’ve never mentioned, which is the nature of this series as a performance. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t, and sometimes it falls somewhere between. And I probably can’t make those judgments.

Almost Past Twilight – Sunset/Twilight, Tuesday, 11 December 2012

William Van Doren, ALMOST PAST TWILIGHT. Sunset from Stony Point, Albemarle County, Va. Oil on watercolor block, 13 x 19.

Yellow splotches courtesy of camera. Something about light hitting brushstrokes at a certain angle.