I recently finished three painting for some friends of mine. The pictures depict an area of Western North Carolina where they were married. I feel these are some of my most major works to date. Comments and criticism are of course welcome.
After spending some time at St John’s Episcopal Church where Jane and Braden were married I decided the best view was overlooking the valley from the road leading up to the church. It was a little overcast that day, but the sky still offered some incredible blues. Using several layers of masking tape and glazes, I created a cloudy sky. To further accentuate the clouds I outlined some of the cloud formations using Acryl Gouache. I feel the sky is the best part of the painting. The field was done in a similar way to the sky with contrasting greens accentuated with grass blades painted with Acryl Gouache.
Valle Crucis #2 (Waterfalls near Conference Center) 30x60" Acrylic (Middle)
A long uphill climb led us to a breathtaking waterfall about a mile from the Valle Crucis Conference Center. I love painting waterfalls, the motion of the water allows for many different possibilities. In painting the waterfall for this painting I used 20/80 ratio of paint to glazing medium and then used detail applicator bottles to apply the waterlines. I really like the top middle of this piece, there is just enough bright yellows used to give the impression of light coming through the dense forest. The big rock at the bottom was created using a thick layer of neutral grey and impasto medium.
Valle Crucis #3 (Crab Orchard Creek) 30x60" Acrylic (Bottom)
Located close to the Apple Barn at the Valle Crucis Conference Center is Crab Orchard creek. The tranquil stream is typical of most mountain streams, being very shallow and more rocky than muddy. This landscape allows for some interesting glazing techniques. The sienna glaze on top of the creek surface gives an effect of the water surface where can see but not define the rocks underneath. The most interesting part of this work is the left side; Here I used detail bottles and poured glaze to create some of the leaves. At the bottom I actually used dried glaze and applied the chips with gel medium. This was the most time consuming painting of three, but I feel it is the best offering several different painting techniques and a diverse array of colors.
These are beautiful. Thanks for posting.
ReplyDeleteTom Eshelman
Executive Director
Valle Crucis Conference Center