On a recent trip to Little Switzerland, North Carolina I saw Crabtree Falls. This magnificent waterfall is highlighted with powerful rushing waters and beautiful moss covered rocks. I visited the area in early November, so I expected to see more autumn colors, but the area was more filled with pine trees and moss making for some spectacular greens.
In choosing how to paint this, I selected a view that showed a tree that was growing in an island near the base of the waterfall. This made for a strong focal point with the waterfall in the back and a brilliant blue and yellow sky in the far background. I began this painting with the sky and basically worked my way from background to foreground, with the tree being the last thing that was painted. To create the waterfall I used two different sized detail bottle applicators filled with Iridescent White and Australian Sky Blue. This type of application provides a subtle impasto effect but is not too overwhelming.
I personally think the rocks in the bottom 1/3 of this painting are quite interesting. The palette used for these rocks consists primarily of Carbon Black, Paynes Grey, Midnight Blue and some purples.
This is the first of two paintings inspired from this trip, I look forward to doing some more in the near future.
Wow, Micah these two new additions look great on the website. The more I stare at the rocks and focal point tree of the Crabtree Falls Painting I realize this is a special work. Great Job.
ReplyDeleteTim