I have been spending so much time doing small studies lately that it really felt good to do a big-honkin’ painting in the studio of the beautiful Blue Ridge mountains. Ahhhh! Big canvas, big brushes, and lots of paint.
Okay, so this painting is 30×40″–not massive but respectably large for me. I’ve painted other variations of this scene before but they sold before I could get a high quality photograph taken of them. This snapshot is off somewhat and caught a bit of glare but I will post a better image once I’ve finished the painting (a bit more minor tweaking to do.) ***Update***See the finshed painting here.
I decided to try this with a limited palette of five colors (ultramarine blue, cadmium red light, alizarin crimson permanent, cadmium yellow light, pthalo green and white.)Â
Basically this is the palette Kevin Macpherson often cites in his very good book: Landscape Painting Inside & Out
This pallette differs from the one that Kenn Backhaus uses that I had been experimenting with a couple of weeks ago painting on location in Easton Md. I rather find myself gravitating more towards the Macpherson palette, which varies the colors and omits the black. The jury is still out though and I will continue to experiment with both, as I do think I am learning a lot about color.
Jennifer
Young; Vibrant LandscapesOil Paintings and Art Prints Online
My Website
Subscribe to my newsletter
Subscribe to my blog
Contact Me!
Subscribe with Bloglines
Yeah! This is the one I love so much! Thanks for painting it again. I love it.
Thanks so much for your encouragement Jenny! Stay tuned…I will post a better picture soon.
I’m so glad I found your daily blog and website! It makes my day to “visit with you” I’m an oil novice…started classes in May. In looking at your palette surface it almost looks like large ceramic tiles. Am I right?
Hi Kathy,
Yes, those are ceramic tiles. You can get them for under $1 (I believe) at Lowe’s or Home Depot, so I don’t feel bad if I need to replace them. I’m going to write a post soon about the home made taboret I’m using, so stay tuned!
So glad to visit with you too!
Great! I’m in the Charleston SC area (not too far fron VA) and would love to know if you ever hold any workshops!
Kathy,
I love Charleston! Lots of great stuff to paint down there, and toooo many good restaurants! I do teach workshops from time to time and I’ll be glad to keep you informed. Thanks so much for your interest!
My dream is to live in the Blue Ridge Mountains. I moved from VA to Wisconsin in 1983 and your pictures give me a taste of home.
Thank you for such a beautiful memory.
My dream is to live in the Blue Ridge Mountains. I moved from VA to Wisconsin in 1983 and your pictures give me a taste of home.
Thank you for such a beautiful memory.
Jean, thank you for the lovely comment. You and I share the same dream. The Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia are very special to me also.
Wow, this is gorgeous. I’ve just started getting into landscape painting, and hope to be able to create something like this one day. Will be buying the book! Thanks so much!!