Grand Canyon Double Post

Since I didn't have internet access yesterday, I have a double heaping of paintings from this weekend to make up for it.

I just got back from the Grand Canyon. The 7th Annual Grand Canyon Celebration of Art was also going on at the same time (coincidence? No way! It was perfectly planned). While I wasn't part of the celebration, I was able to get a few paintings in and visit with the artists and public. I'm hoping to apply and join next year's show.

I was able to attend the Quickdraw auction (which was filled with great pieces) on Saturday, as well as the grand opening show/sale at Kolb Studio. The show is up until January 18, 2016, so there will be plenty of time to swing on by and take a look!

Here are the four pieces I was able to paint, along with an "in-the-field" photo too.

"Indian Gardens" Oil on canvas panel, 8x10 inches

"A Golden Crown" oil on canvas panel, 8x10 inches

"Peeking through the Junipers" Oil on linen panel, 9x12 inches

"From the Edge of Mathis Point" oil on linen, 8x6 inches

I was using a slightly simplified palette for these pieces. This time I used cadmium yellow light, cadmium orange, cadmium red light, dioxazine violet, ultramarine blue. Since I wasn't painting any sunsets I took out the crimson. You can mix a pretty decent red-violet with just the cadmium red light and dioxazine.

The biggest lesson I learned from this trip: Block in the shadows fast! I didn't even tone my canvas. After a quick outline sketch and went with a light blue-violet and started blocking in the shapes of the shadows. They change so fast it's crazy. Once I blocked in the shadows I went with the cooler lights in the background, and worked my way to the foreground light areas. Areas in the immediate foreground as well as the sky were saved for last.