Monday, September 21, 2015

Morning Sun Hits Ritter


Click Here to Bid (6x6in.)

I actually started this one during my trip to the Sierra's, but did most of the work when I got home, using the start and photos as a guide. Every morning at sunrise, Mt. Ritter (in the back) would light up first, while the rest of the "valley" was still in shadow. For a few minutes, all the trees would glow kinda like this, and then very quickly light would spill down over everything. I literally had about 10 minutes to get this down, which is why my start is just about nothing. You can see I had to make the mountain a bit more glowy. That's called "artistic lisence." Or (ahem) maybe I got it wrong in the first place. Nah.

The best part about the trip was that we really became intimately familiar with the location. After a couple of days I could predict what the light was going to do, and plan accordingly.

2 comments:

Caroline Greene said...

This is immediately one of my all time favourites of your paintings, Carol! You've created that glow so beautifully. Wonderful.

Gabrielle said...

Oh my gosh I love this Carol! It transports me right back to those lucky moments camping over the years that I've gotten up at dawn to watch the sun light up the mountains. Your painting makes me feel the freshness of the air, smell the evergreens, hear birds twittering in the distance, and stand in awe of that magical morning light. What a lovely way to start my morning today!