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Vineyard Sunrise Return to the Landscape Gallery Vineyard sunrise continued... Napa Valley in the early Morning is amazing to experience because it is a conversion from cool shadow tones to the bright warm feeling of the valley most people know. As the sun touches the valley floor, warmth spreads across the valley like a tide – the vines seem to wake one vine at a time. I was in the valley last summer as the sun was rising and this is one of the scenes I experienced. The glow of the sun was like a streak of fire. The lit vines were glowing with an intense yellow-green. The trees were just touched by orange light and the distant hills were a blue-violet. I was very affected by that morning and remembered once again why I love the valley so much. I went to work on the sunrise painting as soon as I could. I worked for a balance between the intensity of the light and the beauty of the colors of the morning. I used muted colors for the background and spent weeks on the hills and sky. I wanted to balance the light, color, and intensity of my paint. I saved the full saturation of color for the sunlit foreground vines. When I finally finished the sky, the background hills and the morning sunlight I knew the painting was working. I then took my time painting the trees and finally the vines. In music this would be saving the full power of the orchestra for the finale. As I moved forward in the painting the power of color went to full saturation and then to a quiet shadow feel with the most forward vines still not in the sunlight. The feeling of this painting is in the power of light and the contrast of light and shadow. This is the most emotional vineyard painting I have ever painted. Paintings of the Valley are deeply emotional to me as a person who has spent many years touring and even living in the Valley. For those who have experienced the Valley on a warm summer morning...this painting is for you! Stephen Luce Return to the Landscape Gallery
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