My Art in the Making
STAGE 1
I want the broken streambed and the turbulent water to feature strongly in the foreground as a platform for the stampeding horses. It goes in first. Against most compositional standards, I lift the top of the platform to almost half-way up the canvas squeezing the horses and the background into the remaining and restricted 50 percent. This is really about water and horses so I hope to get away with it. All fan brush and wild strokes!
STAGE 2
Since the Maroon Bells are over the hill in they go. The strong sawtooth skyline offsets the rock and water madness at the base so pushing the eye back to the middle. This relative zone of peace is where the story plays out. The sky needs to blend in with mountains as will the water merge with the rocky ledge in the stream. These opposing elements play out with the presence and action of the horses.
STAGE 3
The backdrop and the stream are predominately exercises in greys so the yellow aspen trees that herald in the fall are a welcomed relief. It needs some spikes of excitement. Yep, still all with the Stingray fan brush!
STAGE 4
The only other place where the water explodes and fragments is under the horses. Here’s the chance to show some water magic. Exploding water is the best element on earth to create meaningful madness and absolutely get away with it!
Knowing there is a dark blue purple shadow under the horses and that the very best color that goes with it is yellow I bang them against each other where the hooves enter the water. As water lifts and fragments it lightens in tone and merges with the surrounding color just waiting for the splashes to rocket in!
STAGE 5
Tricky to say the least! Both halves are joined in the middle at the run of the horses. I’m comforted knowing that the splashes around the horses can, if I get them right, offset whatever power and tension I give to the tumbling, crashing water over the rocky ledge. The horses are underdone now. I have them to saturate and contrast yet and that bit of magic will bounce them into importance.
So into the broken tumbling water. I switch to the Roundup 1-inch flat bristle brush with furled hairs to get this done. As much as we want certainty in strokes there are times we want the brush to give us “random” certainty— that accidental effect that consciously just won’t happen.
STAGE 6
Just how magical is that? I stop before going too far with the color and contrast. I need to get onto the horses quickly to offset the power of the water.
STAGE 7
Using the magnifier I sharpen the detail and heighten the contrast of the horses and make a small start on the splashing water. I use the Roundup brush for the lifting water. Furled hairs loaded with dripping soft titanium white, first a light blue for the shadow splash and then light yellow white for the sun splashes does the trick. Yep, that is my splashing water brush!
STAGE 8
FINAL PAINTING Belles of the Bells
There are two steps to painting the splashing water. First the Roundup 1-inch flat brush with ragged hairs skipped up and down leaves fine markings of paint that look just like water spray then actual dabs of paint with the Marilyn liner brush to define the explosion.