In late December I visited Canaan Valley in West Virginia. It’s
a very beautiful and peaceful place and if you are an outdoor person you’ll
love it too. Walking through the woods and meadows was a real treat for me. Because
it was too cold to stay in one spot and draw I took a lot of pictures while
hiking.
Here is a scene that made me freeze for a moment. This sight
had a lot of attractive features but also had a few distracting elements. In my
rough sketch below you can see how I handled the components to create a more exciting
composition. The drawing was done with a graphite aquarelle and washed over
with water. This helped me see the tones and the lighting better.
The creek was my focal point so I decided to cheat a little
and make it a bit wider and brighter. The trees along the stream had trunks covered
with lichens light in color. To emphasize that brightness I positioned them in
front of the darker conifers. The unbalanced tree trunk and the footbridge were
grabbing attention away from the stream so I didn’t put them in my drawing at
all. Also, I decided not to paint the tall trees in the background to simplify the
setting.
At first I covered the tree trunks with masking fluid. I wet
the entire paper and applied the diluted mixture of ultramarine blue and burnt umber
for the background. I added yellow ochre to the mixture to achieve a nice green
color for trees in the distance. To create the soft look I started painting while
the paper was still wet. For the foreground I used burnt sienna and a touch of
purple. After these first two washes I waited for my paper to completely dry. Then
I painted the closer fir trees and pines with the same mixture yet more condensed.
Next I removed the masking fluid that covered the trunks. I painted their edges
gray and green to create a feeling of roundness. The grass was done by a lot of
negative painting. I completed the painting by adding shadows behind the trees.
I really enjoy painting details and I have to remind myself
constantly not to over do it.
Go to my YouTube Chanel to see the video of painting process
