I was painting on location with the Missouri Plein Air Painters at the Grand Basin in Forest Park.  It was an overcast day.  The sky was a light-grey mass, and the earth in shadow. 

I was attracted to this scene because I was intrigued at the great extent to which the fountain melded into the sky.  Little or no value change was present.  Subtle changes in color temperature were all that separated the two shapes.  Upon further observation, I found numerous subtle value shifts between the shapes in the landscape, and it became the primary reason for this painting.  I felt compelled to paint this scene, because I had just recently seen masterful handling of a subject with a small range of values, "Woman at Her Toilette" by Berthe Morisot.  Even though a significant portion of white is included in the mixture of every shape in the painting, the overall color scheme is vibrant, rich and compelling.