Saturday 5 June 2010

Canyon Light

The latest piece is an attempt to put some recent lessons into practice. Creating recession in pictures is not as easy as it might seem, particularly where there are a number of planes to represent. Ensuring that each plane is distinct is something that requires planning from the outset. Natural enthusiasm can be a barrier to the appropriate planning and is a frequent fault of mine. I chose this subject because it had a wide value range and would require the depiction of multiple planes and the extremities of the value range. The picture is based on a postcard that I acquired whilst visiting the Grand Canyon. The picture probably needs some refinement but I'll sit on it for a few days before visiting it again. Any suggestions?

Canyon Light - Oil on stretched linen 16" x 12"

3 comments:

rob ijbema said...

you certainly like to give yourself a challange
this is a complex scene...
te other way round would have been easier,i mean warm colors close,cool colors far away...
but you are going the right way mick
the cool foreground works well against the distant warm colors
a bit less (yellow) chroma in the distant hills will push them even further

Peter Ward said...

Your oils are improving all the time Mick, especially with such a difficult subject.I agree the yellow rocks in the background, particularly the centre one, would benefit from being lighter and less prominent, maybe also cooled a little.

Being super picky is it possible the perspective of the river is very slightly out?

Unknown said...

Rob - Thanks a lot. Having had a bit of bother in the past creating decent recession I thought this would give me the chance to work on it. I know that the warmth of that yellow brings it forward and I'll tone it down a bit, hopefully without spoiling the reflection.

Peter - Thanks a lot, cooling about to occur. As to the perspective issue, I think I've created the problem by the direction of the brush strokes that give the impression of going down hill. Correction in the pipeline.