Plein Air, Indian River Lagoon, Fl

I was finally able to actually do some plein air today.  My first effort became a toned canvas but I am happy with my second attempt.  It was a glorious day today, a tiny bit of nip in the air.  One of the things I focused on was selecting the site.  I tried to look for spatial clues as Mitchell Albala recommended in his book on "Landscape Painting".  It was helpful to know what to look for such as 1. Volume - clear patterns of light that create a sense of volume that results in differentiation of shapes 2. Scale - i.e. changes in size the suggest one is further back  3. Overlapping - i.e. if  trees in the mid ground or foreground also overlap and overlap the back ground i.e. trees enter the sky in the background and 4.  introduce perspective with a fence in the foreground or perhaps shadows leading the viewer into the background.  He provided thumbnails that visually explained it all.   For a beginner landscaper, it was very helpful to know what to look for.  The next chapter will be on composition.  I am really learning a lot and today's exercise just emphasized how much more I have to learn. Have a great day!