Gloomy Afternoon at Lake Harriet

Two weekends ago I spent the weekend in Minneapolis for a wedding. I'm pretty taken by the natural beauty of the twin cities: lush trees, the great Mississippi, the Minnehaha Falls, and dozens of lakes.  I had the lucky opportunity to stay with a friends' family near to Lake Harriet on this recent visit.  It's hard to describe how idyllic the neighborhood lakes, like Lake Harriet, seem to me.  Lake Harriet, located two blocks from where I was staying, feels clean and fresh, surrounded by tree-lined walking and biking paths, a bandshell for summer concerts, and charming homes. On a gloomy Sunday afternoon walk, I couldn't resist sitting in the bandshell overlooking the lake and making this painting. Later that day, in fabricating a "thank you" card for our hosts, I painted the same scene again, but the second time the lake, sky, and water lived in my mind's eye. The second version, painted from memory, was simplified into the more essential relationships of lights and darks, without attempting to differentiate the details of the scene. I'm uncertain which was the more compelling painting, but certainly the experience of sitting before the a vast sky, lush trees, and reflective water can't be beat!