FALL AT BRAGG CREEK - CONTINUED

Fall at Bragg Creek - evergreen trees

As I continued to paint Fall at Bragg Creek, I placed the distant rolling foothills against what is currently the sky. That part of the sky will be replaced by the very distant light purple mountains which have a bit of snow on them. I then had great fun painting the dark of the evergreen trees which come down a hill on the left side of the painting. These have quite a bit of texture and are laid on quite thickly. I love how they look already!

FALL AT BRAGG CREEK

Sometimes, when you are doing a commission, clients don't want the work displayed on the internet. And sometimes, you get the honor of working with a client who is happy to see and share the process of the painting, who considers it all part of the excitement of the creative process.


That is the client I am working for right now. She is happy to see the process of her piece being built layer by layer. So, I am going to post some of the process her painting has gone through to this point. I think I will be done by the end of this month...I hope so. It takes a long time for oil to cure when you work the way I do - layer upon layer. But I love the results - so for me it is totally worth the time and effort.

Fall at Bragg Creek underpainting

Here you get an idea of the size of the canvas on my easel- 30" x 40". It is large, but not so large as to be unwieldy. I did the underpainting in acrylic, locating where the elements of the painting would be situated. The very far distance has mountains against the sky, then foothills, then dark of evergreens against bright yellows of poplar trees. In the middle ground will be various layers of bushes and grasses. In the foreground is the creek, rocks, reeds, and the reflections of the overhead clouds in the water. 

I have already painted in the first layer of blue water and reflected clouds in oil paint, as well as the blue of the sky. Looking good already!

BRAGG CREEK

Bragg Creek
20" x 24"
oil on standard canvas

I began this painting several months ago. My art show in November took a lot of my time, as well as commissions for clients, and Christmas. Then came teaching students in the New Year - and so this painting got put aside for quite some time. 
I finally pulled it out a short while ago, and now it is finished. Bragg Creek is an area in the Foothills of the Rocky Mountains, about 30 minutes from where I live. I was driving there in the fall, and stopped a little bridge to take a picture of this scene. The mountains were barely visible in the distance, and the bushes were just gorgeous! against the dark greens of the evergreens. It was a spectacular scene. I believe I have captured the essence of it - I love how this painting turned out! Hope you do too.