First Plein Air of 2014

This 8 x 10 oil was painted in June of the inner harbour on Wards Island, part of the Toronto Islands in Lake Ontario. This was at a paint out sponsored by the Ontario Plein Air Society (OPAS).

I wasn't particularly happy with the sky when I brought it home. Lately I have been painting the trees before painting the sky which allows me to control the edges there, getting both soft and hard which helps to connect the two; adding depth and avoiding a "pasted on" look. As I am new to doing it this way it is easy for the situation to get out of control. So I waited for it to dry a bit and then repainted the sky area back in the studio.