While on our annual Labor Day weekend visit to the Sideshow Gathering in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, I got out to do a little painting. On Saturday afternoon I stood on the Market Street Bridge overlooking the Susquehanna River.

I always struggle with painting river water; it reflects the changing light, sky, and banks differently than marsh water or ocean water. Ocean and marshes have their own challenges, but don’t have the long reflections and shadows from tall trees on the banks that the rivers often have. Rivers can also be very muddy and dirty looking and to get that look across (and attractively) is incredibly difficult for me. In this painting I was really happy with the way the water ended up looking. Once again I was using my favorite Bohemian Green Earth from Williamsburg Paint to get the gray/brown muddy areas along the banks.