Monday, July 16, 2012

More on Camelback Mountain

First up is a small sketch from the Echo Canyon hiking trail on Camelback Mountain. I think it measured 10x10.


I liked the sense of light in this one. I also found things to be a little challenging. The rocks here in Phoenix lack a lot of color compared to elsewhere in AZ, such as Sedona (which is what I'm used to painting). Not to mention since this was done before the rainy season, there was very little vegetation. I'm hoping that I can use that to my advantage... I will need to strengthen my composition and lighting more to create an interesting painting, and not rely so much on the color that's already present. It's also going to force me to exaggerate color more in order to avoid making things too neutral or bland-looking.

Here is the start of the large version. This one is 24x30.


My palette here is:

-Flake white
-Cadmium yellow (I try to avoid using this until the very end, and only put it in the closest foreground mixtures)
-Yellow ochre
-Raw sienna
-Cadmium orange
-Cadmium red
-Quinacridone rose
-Burnt sienna
-French Ultramarine
-Prussian blue
-Viridian