Pocosin Lakes - Step 6 - Final

Ok, Step 6 probably should have been Steps 6, 7, 8 . . . Needless to say there was quite a bit involved with finishing this painting. I struggled mightily with how I was going to paint the big tree. My initial thought was to create impasto walls going up each side and then use a liquid mixture to fill the space in the enter of the tree. I opted against that and chose to use more detail on the tree bark and branches.

In doing the big leafy areas of the tree, I used a bright palette of color - when everything was painted I came back and added a fluid acrylic/glazing medium mixture applied with applicator bottles. Eileen walked in while I was doing this, and said I was adding ornaments to the Christmas tree. While that was not my intention perhaps there is some truth to that perception.

This painting took over 50 hours of painting time, but I am quite happy with the finished product.

Some of the earlier pictures of the process were photographed in sub par lighting, so that would explain much of the color variances.

All comments, questions and criticism are welcomed.

Pocosin Lakes - Step 5

I will paint the big tree last, but I now will focus on some of the larger trees that ascend from the wooded area into the sky an in some cases off the canvas. This is an enjoyable part of the painting process, because it allows different experimentation with colors and patterns.

Pocosin Lakes - Step 4

Probably the most challenging and time consuming portion of the painting process comes with the densely wooded area behind the water. This is a three step process that begins by using standard heavy bodied acrylics to depict the shapes and colors of the various trees, bushes and foliage. Once these forms are made I will use a thinner fluid acrylic or sometimes acryl gouache to add details and give these elements more character. Finally I will use 4 to 6 different glazes to help add some depth and set this area off from the water, sky and other elements in the painting.

Pocosin Lakes - Step 3

The water elements of this work will probably be the most visible when the painting is finished. There are three components to this water. 1. the water is shaded by the wooded ares 2. the water that is unshaded and 3. the water shaded by the big tree.

I begin by using heavy body Acrylics consisting of Carbon Black, Hookers Green, Paynes Grey, Midnight Blue and Australian Sap Green. Titanium White is used to create different shades of all these colors. Covering components 1 and 3, I concentrate on darker shades - with the unshaded area several grays and light blues are used. I now use Acryl Gouache in varying shades of greens, blues and white to create detail an water ripples.

When covered I move onto applying two glazes over the entire area. For component 1, I use a dark glaze of Hookers Green and a little Carbon Black. The remaining area is covered with glaze of midnight blue. This glaze makes the water ripples look like an under painting and gives an effect of movement.

To create the water ripples on top of the water, I use a glaze mixture of white and Sap Green. This is applied through detail applicator bottles to give the further effect of water movement.

Pocosin Lakes - Step 2

When beginning the painting process I always work in sections from the background to the foreground. In this case the sky is where I begin - I choose three colors (Paynes Grey, Midnight Blue and Carbon Grey) and create 1" bands all the way down to where the sun is rising. When I get to this area I use five different bands of Naples Yellow to achieve the sunset effect. When these bands are complete I create three separate mixtures of fluid acrylic paint and glazing medium - this time using the colors Australian Sky Blue and a light and dark shade of Paynes Grey. These transparent bands are painted over the opaque bands that were made earlier. For the sunset at the bottom a glaze of Cadmium Yellow Light is painted over each band of Naples Yellow.

Pocosin Lakes - Step 1

After doing several smaller paintings, I am back on track and painting a larger (30x40") canvas. Over the next week or two my blog entries will reflect some of the different stages involved in making this painting.

The subject I have chosen is Pocasin Lakes Wildlife Refuge in Columbia, North Carolina. I visited the area in early October, so there are some interesting reds and autumn colors reflected in the photograph. I like this picture because it includes sky, land and water. As I start to paint these areas each will reflect a different painting style.

As with all my paintings, I begin by doing a pencil sketch of the photograph. I rarely refer to this sketch during the painting process, but I find it helps me think of the image in more abstract forms and the additional study time that I spend focused on the image helps churn more ideas.

Pocosin Lakes Wildlife Refuge

While visiting a friend in Columbia, North Carolina I got some great pictures of the surrounding landscape.  I did this painting on an 8x10" canvas and it is only a taste of the paintings I will do from this trip.  Whenever I take a picture that I will subsequently paint I look to capture sky, land and water.  This Pocosin Lakes Wildlife Refuge offered these elements and I was fortunate enough to be there at the right time of day and during good weather conditions.  The water was a blue/black color and during the early part of October the leaves were just starting to change color.  

Eileen and I took nearly 100 pictures from this trip.  I can't wait to paint some more.