Sycamores along the Wash

This is my favorite time of year to paint sycamore trees.  I really like being able to see the detail of the branches.  I like the bright foliage barely clinging to the tree.  I find the contrast of the sun lit side of the bark versus the shadow side fascinating.

I chose to paint on a bright yellow board.  When I pick a color to use as the under painting on the board I am really thinking about the colors I will be painting with and what reactions they will create in my color choices as I go.

I just bought some pastels to add to my pallet.  I focused on the colors I felt like I had depleted over the last year of painting.  The funny thing about painting with pastels is that once a color has been used up the nature of the painting changes to the degree that your preferred color choices change. ( due to availability of those colors)

I started the painting with an outline of the top of the mountains and then developed the color, value, and detail of the sky.  I continued to work the painting from the back to the front.  By doing this I was able to get the atmospheric perspective flow better. As I moved through the middle ground and foreground I made small adjustments to keep all the parts of the painting in their right place.

                                                                                       

By the time I had gotten to the foreground; I noticed that I would have to darken the shadows and lighten the highlights in it to project the right feeling of distance.  Then I had to tone down the middle ground of the painting because it was out of balance with the background and the foreground.  The trees in the wash were refined to reflect the setting sun's warmth. 

The value shot

The detail shot.