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Aaaand More Painting Progression

This is 8×8″, using a photo taken last spring somewhere on the BLM land above our house. Some people call it Case Mountain because it is below Case Mountain (mostly privately owned and gated closed). Some people call it Salt Creek because Salt Creek runs through. We call it BLM, because it is managed by the Bureau of Land Management. It used to be relatively unknown, and then along came The Google and everyone’s need to announce everything to the entire world. (STOP IT!)

You might be able to tell that I moved the trail toward the center. The photo is a vertical rectangle but I am painting it as a square so I scoot things where I want.
Finished sky, distant hills, trees behind the trail, a small rock, some shadows, began applying color to the grasses.
Another rock, shadows on the trail, and details on the grasses make this come alive.
Drawing in the branches was a little tricky while the sky and hills were still wet. I did it anyway.
This needs to dry before I figure out if I can put in some microscopic but effective dots for flowers, make sure the big tree looks convincing, and of course, sign it.

Would you believe me if I told you that it will look better when dry and scanned, and even better in person? Yeppers, it’s true.

2 Comments

  1. I love seeing the initial draft, and then the final painting. Such a whopping but beautiful difference!

    • Thank you, Sharon! I am finally getting used to the reality that all oil paintings look terrible at first. (Only took 17 years)

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