The intense pink on the white peaks here shows how red the evening light can be. Everything else around was almost black and white but the light reflecting on the mountain is red. I see this often here in Juneau on the mountains, and I wanted to get it down on canvas so I remember the strength of the color.
This is another 5×7, also a view from my front yard. The low sun in the winter is spectacular when it comes out. The mountain is green with trees, of course, but the warm sun makes them appear orange in the evening. I wanted to capture this extreme color compared to the cool sky and snow for later reference. Sunshine makes me smile! ( =
This is a view from my home. There is a mountain that goes straight up just across from us. The way the sun hits it in the evening amazes me. the colors are so strong. I’m not sure how this reads to someone not familiar with the view. But it is supposed to be a patch of the mountainside just catching the sun between the dense foggy patches.
I love painted trees! I need to practice them close up because they are very tricky to paint. So in this I combined the tree practice with the strong warm light practice. It is just a small 5×7, but I think it has good impact. When studying a subject close up, the things you learn can be easily applied to a more suggestive painting later on. This is another thing that I need to remember.
This is the second little 5×7 study of the warm light effects on a subject. In this case it made a nice backdrop for the interesting foreground. I thought it was interesting that the fog looked so warm compared to the cool, shaded trees. I really wish that we had more sunny days here so I could get outside and paint!
This is a little 5×7 painting. It is the second time that I have done this picture.I believe that it is much cleaner and much less overworked as well. I must say that I don’t generally enjoy doing a picture more than once, but I am learning the value of doing so. The first time I did this, it was quite a struggle to capture the sunny light. But this time it took less than half the time. It was a real pleasure to work on! From now on I am going to make it a practice to do certain paintings more than once, and even in different colors or value patterns. I think it will increase my learning significantly.
This is another effort to employ the looser style of painting that I like so much. I really tried to go about this in a more reckless abandon fashion. I did not want to be fussy with detail but wanted to focus on the larger value differences. About mid way through I almost tossed it, but in the end I think it came out rather well.
This is a collection of 4×4 paintings that I did this week. They are copies of larger paintings by a friend who’s work I particularly like. His brush strokes are quick and sketchy and his paint is quite thick and textural. Another thing I like about it is his color choices. He uses a few different colors than I was using and I enjoyed adding these to my pallet. (the new ones were sap green, cad orange light, and yellow ochre)
I really enjoyed these little studies. I got a feel for the look and light, as well as a bit more texture. I think this was very helpful.
This is a painting of our ski area in Juneau called Eagle Crest. It is a beautiful place to hike. I love the warm colors and the reflections in the water. I wanted the dark area in the distance to look more shaded from the sun than it does, I need to work on that. But this was a fun painting to do. (It is 8×10)
Today I decided to divert from my little studies and do a winter scene that really appealed to me. I love the little bit of sun peaking through the trees. I did try to work loosely on this and felt like I had some success not being too fussy.
Art with my Coffee 