Trailing the Storm – Sunset, Wednesday, 4 June 2014

William Van Doren, TRAILING THE STORM. Sunset from Stony Point, Albemarle County, Va. Oil on Arches, 17 x 23.

A Bold Deceiver – Sunset, Tuesday, 3 June 2014

William Van Doren, A BOLD DECEIVER. Sunset from Stony Point, Albemarle County, Va. Oil on Arches, 17 x 23.

I took a photograph of this sunset while I was sketching it, and the colors in the photo were spectacular, with brilliant gold, yellow and red spreading everywhere. However, perhaps because it was a crude shot, the high contrast blotted out details in what I was seeing — for example, what I noted as a “wonderful sick greenish gray” in the clouds. I saw something less spectacular but interesting in its own right. Of course, in the end it may be hard to pinpoint the real deceiver — the photographer, the painter, or the world itself.

Celestial Signs of Various Kinds – Sunset, Sunday, 1 June 2014

William Van Doren, CELESTIAL SIGNS OF VARIOUS KINDS. Sunset from Stony Point, Albemarle County, Va. Oil on Arches, 17 x 23.

Sun Descending Behind Old Rag – Sunset, Saturday, 31 May 2014

William Van Doren, SUN DESCENDING BEHIND OLD RAG. Sunset from Route 231, Rappahannock County, Va. Oil on Arches, 17 x 23.

On the way back from the opening for the terrific Mike Fitts show at Haley Fine Art in Sperryville.

Sun-in-Shield – Sunset, Friday, 30 May 2014

William Van Doren, SUN-IN-SHIELD. Sunset from Stony Point, Albemarle County, Va. Oil on Arches, 17 x 23.

Piney Mountain Rain – Sunset, Thursday, 29 May 2014

William Van Doren, PINEY MOUNTAIN RAIN. Sunset from Stony Point, Albemarle County, Va. Oil on Arches, 17 x 23.