Tree Line Vista with Process Shots!

Tree Line Vista, 8 x 10, oil on panel, L. Daniel © 2021

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Today's painting is one of my demos from the last workshop I taught in Georgia. We had a beautiful time in spite of overcast skies, unseasonably cold weather, and lots of rainy surprises. My students were troopers and kept their focus through it all. Most importantly, they encouraged each other and made it all fun, which is always the most important ingredient!!

Below is a step-by-step explanation of how this painting came together... 

1) Painted loose outline to position subject on the canvas 

(used burnt sienna and ultramarine).

2) Blocked in masses and value hierarchy within the scene 

(still used only burnt sienna and ultramarine).

3) Massed in upright planes in foreground and background. 

4) Toned ground plane to pick up some warm colors of the marsh.

5) Massed in ground plane, muting and cooling it as it goes back to distant upright.

6) Massed in sky plane, observing transitions of temperature and value. 

7) Made final highlights, refining shapes and edges. (I did not love that big gap in the middle of the trees, so closing that up was part of the refining process.) 

The view from my easel.

Part of the gang, hard at work! Thanks, guys!