They Said Approximate the Elusive Colors – Sunset, Monday, 23 March 2015

William Van Doren, THEY SAID APPROXIMATE THE ELUSIVE COLORS. Sunset from Stony Point, Albemarle County, Va. Oil on Arches watercolor block, 17 x 23.

All-in-All

William Van Doren, ALL-IN-ALL. Oil on canvas, 18 x 24.

First in what will probably become a series. I believe this is neither abstract nor color field, but rather something descriptive and on a continuum with my sunset, Solar Panel, and Tabula Rosa series. But I think I’ll do more of them before venturing to explain. These paintings are based on the first layer I often paint when doing a sunset; this time I let the first layer stand, and develop in its own direction. 

Improvised Solar Color Wheel – Sunset, Tuesday, 1 July 2014

William Van Doren, IMPROVISED SOLAR COLOR WHEEL. Sunset from Stony Point, Albemarle County, Va. Oil on Arches, 17 x 23.

My sketch of this sunset included some improbable color notes for the area around the sun: “flat hot yellow gray (lilac) extends way out” and then “could be sepia + violet + (warm) white + yellow with optical bands of green.” (Meaning, I saw green every time I blinked.) And as the sun went down behind the mountains, there was deeper gold and violet.

The Weightlessness of Color – Sunset, Friday, 5 April 2013

William Van Doren, THE WEIGHTLESSNESS OF COLOR. Sunset from Stony Point, Albemarle County, Va. Oil on watercolor block, 13 x 19.

Escape from Monochrome – Sunset, Saturday, 16 February 2013

William Van Doren, ESCAPE FROM MONOCHROME. Sunset from Stony Point, Albemarle County, Va. Oil on watercolor block, 13 x 19.

This Blue That Blue and Another Blue or Two – Sunset, Friday, 8 February 2013

William Van Doren, THIS BLUE THAT BLUE AND ANOTHER BLUE OR TWO. Sunset from Stony Point, Albemarle County, Va. Oil on watercolor block, 13 x 19.