"Zion Spring" Accepted in Japan Art Exchange

Zion Spring, 11x14, oil

I've been hard at work on a mystery project for a couple weeks. I got word tonight that my above painting was accepted into a great exhibit! The painting will be part of the PNC Bank Worthington Sayama Exchange. As part of my local art league, we were asked to submit work to be included in an exhibit of artwork which will be exchanged with Worthington Ohio's sister city in Sayama, Japan. Our local work will be exhibited at the McConnell Arts Center (MAC) this fall. The representatives from Sayama will be coming to Ohio to view the exhibit and give some lectures on Japanese views of American art. The representatives will be bringing an exchange of Japanese artwork to then be displayed at the MAC, while our art work will be shipped and installed in Japan until the end of this year! So this painting along with 55 others will be world travelers. How cool is that? Yes, another Zion view! I wanted to paint something different than what the other Ohio artists might submit. 

The MAC has started a blog detailing the continuing process. The link is HERE. So, keep checking there along the way.

I wanted to show some process shots as I created this painting and talk about the process. In the pic below, you will see the far side of my studio. I posted printouts of my photo in B&W (to see the values) and a color print. I have heard that putting the photo across the room, makes you see the big shapes and not the details (although the artist which showed this idea, was using snapshot size pics, not large ones like mine). 

Then I did a small value sketch using grey felt tip markers in different values. I am pleased with this little sketch! Something very pleasing about a simple drawing. You will see how little this is in following photos on the right side of my easel.

I worked really hard trying to remember all the things I have learned from recent workshops and in particular, Michael Chesley Johnson, who mentored me on the Zion trip. He gave me many tips on how to paint these mountains!

I started out with a thin wash of color, trying not to get into details. I wanted to follow the values I established in the little sketch first as I knew I would be adjusting both value and color later.

Here is my easel and the tiny value study just to the right. I also had another color printout right beside me, so when I got to the detail of the red rocks in the middle left, I could see them better.

Here, I have started to figure out relationships between the cools in the shadows and warmth of the sunlit rocks, keeping in mind the reflecting light in some of the shadows. Also, beginning to make the foreground rocks warmer and more detailed. I was very conscious of edges.

Now, I have started to detail the trees and the river. I mostly used a palette knife in these areas. I was pleased with how it was looking and wanted to keep it very loose in this area.

I did a bit more fine tuning and called it done as seen in the first photo! I had only a little over a week to enter the exhibit in person, and was really hopeful that the paint would dry in time, which it did.