Chimney Rocks II Painting Stages

Now that I am no longer teaching a class I have neglected to post my paintings and lessons learned.  But I do want to begin again.  Two days ago a painting was sold at the Marigold Arts Gallery on Canyon Road of a scene that happens to be in my favorite area to paint: Ghost Ranch, Abiquiu and the Chama River.  So I am inspired to paint there again (before my next planned trip in early June).
In particular I decided to look back over my notes to see the stages for the Chimney Rocks (now I) painting I did last February 27 and do the painting in a different size. Here's the painting that sold:
"Chimney Rocks almost final", 11x14, oil by Karen Halbert


"Chimney Rocks", 11x14, oil by Karen Halbert (SOLD)
Notice that I changed the sky quite a bit and adjusted the green of the bushes.  Actually for the sold version I toned down the signature from the dark blue to a softer green so that it wasn't as prominent.

So, today I began a new version on a 10x16 linen panel (golden ratio proportion). I happen to have a couple of nice floater frames for this size so once the painting is complete I can submit it to the gallery.
Chimney Rocks Reference Photo

Chimney Rocks Palette (primarily Williamsburg oils)


Several stages beginning with a transparent wash.
Chimney Rocks II: Transparent Wash Stage 1 (for the most part)
You can actually see the use of a couple of mixes with white for the grays here.
And more in the next step, still sometimes using a brush:
Chimney Rocks II: Stage 2
I began to adjust the areas and the sky, and now only used a palette knife (even for the sky).
Chimney Rocks II: Stage 3.With a layer of blues over the sky area.

Chimney Rocks II: Stage 4. Continued adjustments.

Then I stopped for the day, hoping to look at the painting with a fresh eye tomorrow.  My intentions with this version included using a brighter sky to add more drama and accentuate the light on the cliffs.  This creates a very different feel from Chimney Rocks I.



In Stage 5, the next day I seemed to lose the colors of the cliffs. I fell in love with one of my mixes and overdid it.  And the sky lost some of its drama. I had also decided to remove some of the bushes and I think this helped.
Chimney Rocks II: Stage 5.


Continuing the next day,  I darkened and brightened the sky (again) and added some brighter colors into the cliffs  still using only a palette knife. In the meantime I had done a photoshopped version and tried to turn the ground into water.  This wasn't bad but I decided instead to leave it with a meadow-like foreground. But now the ground almost looks wet.  I tried to convey the feeling of 'after the rain' or 'during the rain' and decided this helps:

Chimney Rocks II. Final version (for now)

I am going to let this painting sit for a couple of days. The cliff details could use some refinement.  I feel that from a distance this color scheme works. I wanted to give the impression of a looming storm with light breaking through onto the main cliffs. For this reason I think that the bluer, more sketchy ground plane works here to help create this mood.  I wanted the contrast of the brighter blue with its orange complement to give the cliffs and painting some punch. The analogous greens in the ground work with the blues and purples of the cliffs I feel.



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