"Fête de la musique à la Ferme Rose"
20 x 25cm, oil on canvas
(private collection, Uccle)
It's never been so hot on June 18th in Belgium. Nonetheless we had our exhibit at the Ferme Rose while musicians played in the courtyard. I painted quickly trying to capture the light before it changed. I had left the blue chairs empty to fill in later when the crowds arrived, not realizing that they would pick up all the chairs and move them to a shadier spot off to the left. I also waited to paint the musicians later because I figured the light didn't matter so much back there. So when the five person Brasilian band, Roda Rio, stepped on stage and they fit my composition, I added them. Of course, people enjoyed the music so much they started dancing, photographing the group, and blocking my view but that's all part of the challenge of "plein air" painting.
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