The first dusting of snow at Virginia Lake in early October was a chance to paint the Sierras in a different light. While foregrounds have been such a struggle, this one is loose and simple with shapes instead of over-worked rendering. This painting really wasn't "finished" when I took this picture of it.The trees on the right are a bit funky, but the snow and bushes are good. I even like the small trees on the left.
But then there's the colors of the mountains. Sometimes I wonder what the hell I'm doing. I get the light and dark part but the color harmony here is more like a dissonant symphony.
Purple, damn purple. That's the color you see . . . but you don't see. Maybe purple isn't really purple. Guys like Albert Handell and Lorenzo Chavez are purple maestros. Their plein air palettes are filled with every value and hue of purple. My mountains look like they're behind Calico Ghost Town in the desert. I know I didn't see those colors, I just made them up.
"What's wrong with that?" you might ask . . . my subconscious does. I can only answer that it's not harmonious. I'm getting out my Stephanie Birdsall limited palette of 12 Holbeins and I'm gonna take another whack at it.
No comments:
Post a Comment