Early morning on a chilly winters day, Elsmere Canyon's inhabitants are waking up as the morning sun starts to warm things up. This spot is along the creekside trail heading into the interior of the canyon. The last of the golden leaves dangling on the brush was what intrigued me to paint the view. I just went back the other day and all the golden leaves are gone till next year.
Oil on Canvas 16" X 20"
This is how the painting was approached in the beginning. Rather then drawing out the composition I placed swatches of local color all over the canvas, finding the painting as I went along.
About 1/2 finished, I now know where all the elements of the composition are located and have the general palette nailed down. From this point on it's just a matter of painting the piece. One of the big color influences on this painting and the previous painting was the introduction of "Kings Blue" to my palette. Recently I went to Dick Blicks to purchase a tube of Holbeins Gray Blue, my standard go to tube when painting sunny day skies and just about the same value/color as Vasari's "Bice". The art store in Pasadena doesn't carry Holbein any longer and so I substituted the Gray Blue with a tube of Williamsburg "Kings Blue". It mixes beautifully with every color from Rose to Cadmium Orange to Quinacridone Violet, creating beautiful grays. In the photo the little pile of "Kings Blue" is next to the white pile on the right side of my palette.
