Autumn on Little Goose
I wanted to share my painting from a photo I made two years ago during the fall season in October when the colors were at peak. This is a wetland area beside Little Goose Creek near where I live in Sheridan Wyoming. I used 300# Arches cold press, 1/16 sheet. Wet on dry using Winsor&Newton Ultramarine blue, Light red, Raw Sienna, Burnt Sienna, Quinacridone Gold, Winsor Yellow, Burnt Umber, and Payne’s Grey. I found it challenging to simplify a painting from a photo with such brilliant colors so I tried to focus on the shapes and values rather than the details of the colors and photo. This was my fifth go with this painting and I think the repetition was helpful but so much to learn. Any suggestions and comments are welcome.
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Hi Will, I think you've definitely captured that autumnal feeling with your painting, and I think it stands very well on its own as a lovely, moody autumnal scene. Values are very hard to get right, and if you want to achieve light and a mood that is closer to the one in your photo, I think you have to treat your sky and background mountains a bit differently. Maybe switch to a cooler blue, eg cobalt, and start off lighter from the top, gradually going even lighter/weaker as you continue down towards the horizon. Then, as the paper is turning to a damper stage, just suggest a thin line of distant mountains. This could also be done with a very thin wash after the sky has dried. I think your autumn trees would maybe "pop" even more that way!