OBZ from OBX (Sunset, Saturday, 27 August 2011)

William Theodore Van Doren, OBZ FROM OBX (Sunset from Stony Point, Albemarle County, Va.) Oil on watercolor block, 13 x 19.

Outer bands from the Outer Banks.

Hurricanes, even at some distance, create strange atmospheres and bizarre light that can be sick in both senses of the term. This was the middle phase of three surreal skies in quick succession.

Off the Radar (Sunset, Friday, 26 August 2011)

William Theodore Van Doren, OFF THE RADAR (Sunset from Stony Point, Albemarle County, Va.) Oil on watercolor block, 13 x 19.

I tried to locate the two distant bands of blue-gray storm clouds on the National Weather Service radar maps, but even out to West Virginia, Ohio and Kentucky, they were nowhere to be found.

Neither Here Nor There (Sunset, Wednesday, 24 August 2011)

William Theodore Van Doren, NEITHER HERE NOR THERE (Sunset from Stony Point, Albemarle County, Va.) Oil on watercolor block, 13 x 19.

Aftershock (Sunset, Tuesday, 23 August 2011)

William Theodore Van Doren, AFTERSHOCK (Sunset from Stony Point, Albemarle County, Va.) Oil on watercolor block, 13 x 19.

Well, I expected my title was going to be “Shaken Not Stirred,” with the notation “a peaceful end to our earth-shaking day,” but then, right at 8:05 as I started painting, the aftershock, and a better title in any event.

It Goes to Show You Never Can Tell (Sunset/Twilight, Monday, 22 August 2011)

William Theodore Van Doren, IT GOES TO SHOW YOU NEVER CAN TELL (Sunset from Stony Point, Albemarle County, Va.) Oil on watercolor block, 13 x 19.

Chuck Berry said it, a surprising twilight sky proved it.

Twilight Jailbreak (Sunset, Sunday, 21 August 2011)

William Theodore Van Doren, TWILIGHT JAILBREAK (Sunset from Stony Point, Albemarle County, Va.) Oil on watercolor block, 13 x 19.

After sunset the light to the north finally broke through the post-storm clouds and haze.