New Work

Shannon Falls, 36"x24", acrylic

I have been struggling along on this one for a few days and I am still not sure if I am happy with it. I have had a photo for awhile that I have wanted to paint, mainly because of the white shape of the falls. However the rest of the image is very dark. When my husband was at the falls during the Olympics he took another shot, this time the background was completely in mist and very light in value. I liked the contrast but neither image really gave me enough information. I am liking the direction of this better than my first attempt which had the rocks a darker value. The foreground was not clearly separated from the middle and background and I lost the depth that I feel it needs.  This one seems to give it more atmospheric perspective. I will post an update if I work on it some more. It is hard sometimes to know when to stop fiddling. I really prefer a somewhat spontaneous painterly look. When I start reaching for smaller brushes and getting into too much detail I am usually in trouble. I will often say at a class if you are in trouble pick up a larger brush.