"Amazing"

($40.00.....6" x 6".....Water Soluble Oils on Gessobord)

"It is quite amazing that all colors originate from red, yellow, and blue." When you consider the hundreds of color combinations that derive from these three primaries, we have yet another example of the amazing creative power of God.

This reference photo was taken last fall in Santa Fe, N.M. And yes, the sky really was that blue. It was an amazing October day with the aspens in all of their glory. 

The challenge in this painting was to paint several of the aspens behind the evergreens. No easy task, and my process is different from the oil painters who use brush. I laid down the sky color first followed by some of the evergreens and then I alternated back and forth between aspens and evergreens. It's an interesting effect with some of the evergreens in front and some of the aspens in front. 

I rely primarily on the pressure of the touch to set those colors in place on top of wet paint. One of the advantages of using a palette knife is being able to get cleaner colors. It's much harder to clean a brush when changing color than it is a palette knife and I think that's one of the other reasons I've switched to the knife.

The trees originally went to the bottom of the board, but in the interest of being able to inscribe my lettering, I took a palette knife and swiped off some of that color. I inscribed the quote with a mechanical pencil and wiped the pencil after every stroke. If you really want to know how to learn about color, try oil painting. It's quite the challenge. And there you have it...just a few more things to think about. 

Please contact me personally to inquire about this piece.