 After
the initial drawing, which is not shown here because I draw lightly and
it would not show up in a photograph, I mix a basic shadow color. Generally,
I like a grayish purple, and choose something in the mid range of values
that I will be using between the very distant shadow color, and the closest
background shadow color. At this stage I work from the back of the painting
to the front. If I use all of my original color that I mixed, I will blend
a somewhat darker shade to begin the value gradations that will suggest
the layers of the canyon. At this stage I work in flat color, no attention
to anything accept light and dark masses. I will use the direction of my
brush strokes to suggest the lay of the land within the shadows, and where
one land mass and another meet within shadowed areas, I will leave a pencil
line width of bare canvas so that I don't lose my guidelines. The area
of the canvas that will contain the foreground is left blank. When I paint
a scene like the canyon, I pay close attention to the drawing detail of
the formations. But I consider the foreground to be a balancing agent for
the rest of the painting and this part of the design is only thought out
in general terms at this stage of the painting. |
The
next step is to take the same color that I have been using and dry brush
lightly over the areas of the painting that are still raw canvas. I brush
on just enough color to show the directional lay of the landscape and to
build tonal qualities in the lit areas. I do this quickly, but carefully
enough to create a three dimensional, monochromatic view of the painting.
I leave only my areas of strongest light untouched. This is one of the
most important steps in the painting, because I now have a very strong
feel for how the painting will evolve, and I don't risk losing my direction
in the following days. I can 'see' the whole painting. Now I will begin
to refine the gradations of the shadow areas, lightening the back areas
and adding more value to the layers as I move forward. On a large canvas
such as this one, this is usually as far as I will carry the painting on
the first day.
