New Painting Scene Chosen

February 10, 2022: "Winter Birches," 9 x 12. I came across this while trying to decide what to do next. It was one I'd done the preliminary work on last March and never got back to it. I put this and a couple others up on the easels. 

Later, I slipped back into the studio not sure what I was going to work on. I’d worked on "Snowy Ridge Trail" earlier and didn't feel like doing more. I went to the easel holding this scene and immediately went at it.

This is actually part of a series of the same location I've been working for the past few years. This is the fifth rendition of the scene... all from slightly different angles or times of year.

Right off the bat, I noticed the paper was different. The surface was rougher making it harder to smooth areas. Good thing I had the original timeline started. This is on Canson paper which is more gritty than my usual BFK Rives.

I used a lighter color on the sky using Mount Vision then added white to the clouds using Sennelier and Mount Vision. I tried to drag the lightness down into the treetops… needs to be behind the trees.

I used a taupe colored Sennelier to add background color to the trees, used a pastel pencil to better define the ridge line and began better putting in the birch trees. I need a sharper point on the pencil.