Simply put, observation is key when painting.  I say this because it's important to understand what you are painting and how light affects what we see.  For a successful painting, much more than this is required obviously because there are many other factors to consider...composition being number 1. However for studies and plein air work, observing will take you a long way in your journey.

I was painting at the coast in Pacific Grove on a Wednesday in early February with a friend.  We arrived about noon and it was a warm and clear day so color was everywhere.  Deep rich blues and greens in the water along with sunlit waves and rocks that were nice toasty colors in the light while reflecting the sky in the shadows.  Stunning!  We walked around and caught up on life, sketched and took reference photos for a couple of hours.  By the time we settled in with our painting gear at our chosen site, the color was leaving us.  What?  Why?  A few hours made such a difference. It was due to the angle of the sun which would be setting in a mere couple of hours on the short days. We were looking northwest and there was now a lot of glare to the immediate west affecting this. As a result, the saturation of  the color in the direction in which we were looking was vanishing.  Turning around to paint something to the north or to the east there was still an abundance of color but that's not what we had selected to paint.  So we trudged on and painted and I noticed several other interesting compositions as we did so.  I'm not sure that I "captured the moment" that day and I find myself still looking at that painting in my studio.  We vowed to return to the same place the next day and I already had a few ideas in my head for my next painting.

It was now Thursday and we got an earlier start so I was able to complete one study and start another 8x16 before sunset.  It is called Rocks and Waves and here it is.  I learned so much from those two afternoons even though I had to finish this one in my studio but taking the time to observe and learn was just as valuable as the experience itself.   Another painting from that day is Low Tide and Curving Waves (11x14) and I've posted it in the Plein Air section on my website.  Hope that sharing this experience was valuable for you!