Salt Creek

Salt Creek mixed media painting with a water color under painting and pastel.  This painting measures 27" X 40".

The overall idea captured quickly with a loose under painting.

The painting is composed of a number of abstract and harmonious pieces that when connected lend context to the attempt to represent a certain level of reality.

The flow created by the water color is the binding element within the painting.

When seen in this limited context the abstract nature becomes apparent.

I know this will become a rock.  At least I hope it will become a rock later in the painting.  At this point this is the starting point of what this rock could be.  The idea of shape, color, and value begin to take place.

The water color acts as the sounding board to the application of pastel.  The overall gray nature of the under painting sets up the potential for dynamic color interaction.

When laying down the water color, I am generally thinking about creating opportunities for the application of complimentary colors.  I bounce back and forth between laying down local color in the under painting and laying down a complimentary color to the object in the painting.  

Some areas are left with a very thin layer of water color to let the pastel dominate.

The painting gets worked over the entire surface repeatedly.  I am trying to build color harmony within the areas of the painting.

As you pull back to see the entire painting, the abstract elements are joined in such a way as to create the a semi realistic representation.

The tighter the shot, the more abstract the selected part of the painting appears to be.

As the shot pulls progressively back, the context becomes revealed and the painting becomes less abstract.

These shots of the crashing wave illustrates the same idea.

The value shot.  Did I get enough value separation between the lightest light and the darkest dark.                         

The finished painting

The detail shot.