030917 S 24x36 Fall Forest Fantasy, Part 2

This blog is Part 2 that features the execution of a gorgeous fall painting in the studio.  You can see Part 1 HERE where I write about and show the process and influences leading up to the start of this studio painting. 

I do an initial sketch with a brush dipped in oil, picking up a little magenta and cerulean pigment.

I start by fleshing in the darkest dark values mixed with Cadmium Red Medium and Ultramarine Blue.  For the blackest black, I use more Ultra Blue.

I start "carving" in the hills and woods mixed from cadmium red, primary red-magenta, cadmium yellow, and a smaller amount of ultramarine blue and/or cerulean blue.

For the burnt golds in the creek and hillside, I first mix a red-violet from magenta and cerulean or ultra blues.  Then I mix cadmium yellow light with cadmium red light(orange) and/or magenta to get a mostly yellow-orange.  Then I mix a third color with the mostly yellow-orange, pulling in some of the violet. I use the burnt gold in the creek and again in the treeline.

Then white is mixed with some of the violet, with a touch of the yellow-orange, to make a lighter value for the distant space.  I often use complementary color systems in a painting, all of which are mixed from the basic primary colors.  I have a very simple palette with two blues, three reds, one yellow, and Titanium White.

The greens in this painting were mixed with Cadmium Yellow Light and Cerulean Blue with a touch of red or orange to give it the tinge of autumn and cut the brightness of the "summer green".  This makes a nice moss green color on the rocks.

A dark green/rust is popped into the sky area for the canopy of the forest.  A luscious turquoise for the creek is mixed with Cerulean Blue, a touch of Cadmium Yellow Light and Titanium White.  I may also add some Cadmium Red Medium for the parts of the creek with rocks just under the surface of the water.

The sky color is mixed from Cerulean Blue and Titanium White.  I use the lightest value at the horizon line and make it slightly darker with more Cerulean toward the top of the painting.

The light sky color is popped into the creek which is reflecting the sky.  The burnt orange leaves and tree branches are added to the reflections in the creek.

Tree trunks are mixed from Cadmium Red Medium and Ultramarine Blue (leaning more towards the red) and the major trees are added.  The trees really start to define the depth of the space.

In a very loose, organic way, using a rubber tipped implement, I dash in branches, thin tree trunks, and reflections across the entire surface.

Smaller trees are added as well as branches and limbs using the palette knife.

I started adding green and yellow-green leaves on the left side of the painting. 

More leaves are added across the entire painting.  The leaves are mixed to gradate from green to yellow-green to orange-yellow-green to orange and yellow.  The leaves tumble down onto the surface of the creek.

Some of the tree trunks and branches are pulled back out in front of the leaves adding to the dimensional qualities of the painting.  The distance space is tweaked and highlights added to the water.

A few final bright yellows are added in the areas in the foreground and some spots of sky are added back in.

And the final painting:

"Fall Forest Fantasy", Code # 030917 S 24x36, oil on panel, c. 2017, by Charlene Marsh

This painting captures the extraordinary beauty and peace of the deep forest on an autumn day and would be excellent to enhance the Wealth & Abundance energy of the living space as well as the Core Health & Family Relationships and Spiritual Growth energies.  



Here's the link to Part 1 again so you can see the genesis of how the painting evolved.

Thanks for following along!

Cheers,

Charlene 

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