Thursday, December 06, 2007

Virgin River Painting Study in Zion Canyon

Watercolor painting of the Virgin River in Zion National Park

I was inspired by our trip to Zion National Park and did a little study today from the photos and sketches I made last week. The yellow leaves were still on the Cottonwoods then, but most are gone now with the cold snap that brought snow to Zion. I hope to work this up into a larger painting later. I loved the deep shadows and the warm glow of sunlight hitting the canyon wall.

Step by step painting of Zion National Park(Click on the photos for full-size view) I am working on Arches 140 lb and the image size is 8 in. x 12 in. A quick pencil sketch on the paper is all I need to brush on the first wet-in-wet glazes.

Step by step painting of Zion CanyonAfter putting a second glaze on the cliffs I sketch out the tree trunks which will be easy to paint dark over light.

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