What do I do Next for a Painting?

April 17: I was in a quandary on what to do next as I’m close to finishing “Lost to the Misty Mountains.” Then Duane posted his morning photo, and I was captivated. My eyes were immediately on the river and how it disappears on the horizon. The outcropping of trees and rocks on the left gives shape and closer, the tree-reflected water on the right with its ripples creates movement.

My eye is also drawn to the leaning birch trees along the right-hand bank. There’s a tinge of red around the tips of the bare branches hinting at spring.

I edited (lightened to show detail) the photo and printed including a grayscale and cropped versions. I made a few notes in the margins as I contemplate how to tackle this as a pastel painting. What do I remove or add to create a better composition?

Part of me is tempted to crop the left, but part of me likes those evergreens in the far background. I’ll make the decision when I do the initial sketch. At the moment, I’m not playing around with rule of thirds. At the moment, I'm calling this "Ready for Spring." Next I'll have to do an initial drawing to see how to work the composition.

While working with that photo, I saw I’d already had this one in the For Paintings folder. Oh, this is lovely, too! I printed these photos and start planning the painting. I'm calling this "A Glorious Dawn."

The colors of this glorious orange dawning over a meandering river with morning mist rising off the water is so captivating. Of course, the printed versions are not as brilliant as the original and my mind works at getting the feel for how I will pull this together.

My eyes immediately are taken in by the sky, but then my view drops lower, past the beautiful mountain, and I’m drawn to the vanishing point in the river. I pull back and take in the rest of the scene with its contours, shapes, lines, etc.  I begin to get an idea of what I’ll be able to do with this and I’m excited.

I almost feel the black and white version is prettier and more interesting. As always, I thank Duane Wheeler very much for providing such stunning photos!