Lots more mountain

 

Here's a quick phone photo of the entire gessoed panel for the painting.

At this point, as in most of my large (and complicated) pieces, I'm wondering what I was thinking in tackling a mountain. Here, literally. No wonder I have waited more than a decade to paint it.

 

 

 It looks like the background is almost half finished. But, the lower half is even more complicated.

It would be so much easier to just soft focus a bunch of areas. However, I wouldn't get the look that I want. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mountain continued

 

As you can see, this is a rather complicated mountain. It is the United States' tallest mountain, Denali.

With a peak at 20,310 feet it towers over the surrounding area.

 

I've been thinking about painting this mountain since 2014 when that visit was accompanied by clear skies. 

 

 

More Mountain

 

At this stage I am adding the sunlit snow. 

Notice how the shadowed snow in the foreground painted section is darker and more saturated than the shadowed snow in the far background. 

 

The image above is only the very top section of the painting.

 

 

 

Not finished yet. New painting

 If you have been following my lion painting, not done yet.

I've been tweaking the grass by adding extra blades and highlights. Even though my paintings are generally alla prima, sometimes the layers need to dry for effective highlights or glazing.

 

Waiting for paint to dry is honestly not as exciting as you might think.

 

 

 

In the meantime, I have started a new painting. This will be a complicated one and I hope you enjoy watching me "build" a mountain. 

 

I start at the top of the mountain of this large vertical piece. 

 

 

 

Subtle difference in color help make the illusion of receding peaks. I'll wait until I'm further along to add the snow and glaciers. Having the foundational bones of the mountains painted first helps me better see the relationship of each layer.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ugly Grass

 

When it comes to painting water I usually have an ugly stage. It doesn't look wet, I might doubt my color decisions, and I can't wait to get to more detailed reflections. In the end with blending, it will look wet.

 

Here's a good example of ugly grass. I could have put in a base color and then added the feeling of blades of grass. Instead I started with the darkest colors of the grass in long grass-like strokes. To avoid a mud-looking grass section, I'm going to give this area a chance to dry some before I add all the lighter grass and highlights.

 

 

 

 

 

More grasses

 At this stage most of the mane is painted and I'll save the whiskers for near the end of painting.

 

Rather than get all fussy with the grasses "behind" the lion, I am blocking in the feeling of grass. Once they are in place I'll blend and adjust.

 

 

 

 

 

Lion Further Along

 

The whiskers and lightest parts of the mane and ear aren't painted yet.