EL RITO DEL NORTE -- SOLD!

"EL RITO DEL NORTE" -Completed 3/26/07
SOLD 3/27/07

MANY DAYS AND HOURS LATER - I "scumbled" in the final colors, which means "pushing" the opaque colors into the glazes. For the greens: Mixtures of glazes and opaques - burnt sienna and Prussian blue for the darks, and mixtures of ochres and chrome oxide greens with a little white for the highlights. The highlights on the trees are a combination of cadmium yellow light and white, cadmium yellow and white and other combinations of transitional colors include yellow ochre, chrome oxide green opaque, mars orange and cadmium red. The water: burnt sienna and Prussian blue for the darks, other combinations: thalo blue, thalo green, chrome oxide green opaque and some Permalba White for the highest lights.

If you have any questions, please call (505)758-7454.

WORK IN PROGRESS - EL RITO DEL NORTE (GLAZES)

"EL RITO DEL NORTE" (PHASE II - GLAZES)

Here is the second phase of this painting-- the dark, transparent colors over the underpainting (see the previous post).....the glazes. If there is any one point in a painting where I want to quit, this is it.....from experience, however, I know that it is these dark colors that add the richness and vibrance to the final opaques that go on top of the canvas after this part of the painting is completed. Light is refracted through to the toned ground and then out again -- giving greater luminesence to the final painting.

My mixtures include Prussian Blue and Burnt Sienna for the water. Transparent gold ochre for the trees and shrubs -- I have even used some green and ochres (opaque colors) and thinned them down with my medium to a semi-transparency.

Stay tuned to see the finished canvas!! For price and availability, just call my Taos studio at (505) 758-7454.

WORK IN PROGRESS - "EL RITO DEL NORTE"

WORK IN PROGRESS - "EL RITO DEL NORTE"
(Underpainting)

30"x40" Original Oil Painting on Portrait Quality Belgian Linen. The underpainting is essentially a color sketch over a "toned ground" (gesso mixed with Payne's Grey). This phase of the painting gives me a guide to the light an color of the final piece -- it also gives me the information I need regarding composition -- if a painting doesn't "click" at this point, usually it won't work at all. I've mixed all the basic colors (ochre, chrome oxide green opaque, cadmium yellow) with MGWhite and applied them to the canvas with turpentine. Now I will let the canvas dry for several days before applying the glazes (dark transparent colors) To follow the progress of "El Rito del Norte", stay tuned to this web log!

Be first in line to receive a photo of this completed painting -- just send an e.mail to dclair@donnaclairart.com and join my list of Art Friends. For price and availability, please call my studio at (505) 758-7454.