Just pulled this one off the easel this am. I have been taking a little more time to draw the parts that matter. It has been my experience that when I paint a scene with rocks, it is important to have a strong drawing. If I try to hurry and fake it, I end up paying for it when I am a ways into the painting with an area that will not read right no matter how hard I try to rework it. I drew this out with charcoal again just like the "Canyon Amphitheater" piece. You can see the grid peeking through the drawing. This is and old trick I learned from doing large murals. It helps me keep from getting lost and it is a good way to measure. I use a golden mean grid to keep compostion in the forfront of my mind, so it ends up serving two purposes. I find it a great tool for a balanced interesting composition. A lot of the time I will put the intersection of the grid on smaller pieces to remind me of the importantance of composing something interesting.
I did and earlier study of this piece in a vertical format in a much smaller piece. I had it in mind that I might do a larger studio work later. I sat that painting within view to use as a map for color recipes that I worked out. This scene was mostly in shadow except for the sunlit flat plane on the top of the outcropping. I played with value and color more on this piece than I did in the study to increase the dramatic quality of the piece. I wanted it to be detailed in the right places without overpainting the whole piece. I also included some of the trees that I chose to eliminate in the study. A larger piece seems to call for more of the scene because there is roomofor it without making the piece too busy.
This was a fun piece too paint and this is about the canyon instead of the trees.
Thanks for looking. Comments appreciated and welcomed.
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6 comments:
Thanks for taking the time to explain what you did and for linking to such a great big picture. The result is very succesful if you ask me. Great contrasts between the trees, main rock and background. Nice dramatic colours in the background and good to see the careful painting of the lines in the main rock that give is something special. The "oranje" light triangel is thrilling and is a valuable addition to the painting.
There is a lot of life in the overall painting of these rocks if you ask me, which is a big achievement.
Thanks Bart. Appreciate you stopping by and for the kind words. Rocks can be a bit of a challenge. Glad they work for you.
Great work, Les. I really appreciate hearing about how you put it all together. I have added you to my artist links on my blog, and will stop by often to check out your work.
Thanks Bill. I enjoy sharing my journey, happy to have your company.
wow, you really know your trees.
I am a big fan of great drawing and admire your taking the time to work out the rock debacles before getting into a mess! I can see the care you put into your work. Beautiful.
Thanks Mary. I have found that I cannot cheat when there are rocks involved in a painting. Take the time to draw the stuff that matters.
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