Hwy 1

6" x 8"
oil on panel

You can view and purchase this painting here.



This month's Virtual Paintout location is Iceland. Wow, what a place. I went to the Google map and dragged the pegman to a random spot on the streetview map. This is what I saw:

Ha ha, yes, that was the first scene I happened upon. It's on Highway 1, which circumscribes the land. It seems to be, like most mountainous islands, inhabited mostly along the edges. Anywhere you go, the scenery is stunning.  Reykjavik is also quite lovely.

For some reason I decided to do this painting with a palette knife.

The initial sketch, using a brush.

I premixed some colors. Along the top, LtoR, there's a puddle of Liquin, alizarin crimson, raw sienna, yellow ochre, cad yellow light. Bottom row, LtoR, titanium white, ultramarine blue, prussian blue, permanent violet.

putting in the lighter parts of the mountains

And the darker parts.

The reflection in the water, and the green field.

Sky and water. Almost done. At this point I realize the value and temperature relationship between the mountain itself and the sort of hill comprising the lower half are whack. I don't mind them being warming than the photo reference, but they're not right to each other. I decide to deal with it later with some thin washes.

I don't know if you can see what this is - I read somewhere that when you leave your oil paints overnight, you can submerge them in water so they stay fresh. Works perfectly. I did this for two days running and even the Liquin stayed fresh.

After the first wash. I made up a pool of Liquin with a little of the permanent violet, and brushed it over the entire mountain mass. Now there's just a few details left on the road and the houses.

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