Big and Small, 2006
oil on Linen
private collection
I decided to use the figure into ground method to paint this piece. It is a way of working by painting with light, which is something that comes very Naturally for me. I begin with a dark ground and work from that adding light as I go. Instead of painting shadows I create the light.
I started on the farthest point away in the distance in order to build the image toward the foreground. The bright area above the cascade was the deepest point so I worked from there first, continuing along the opposite side of the creek.
I began filling in the creek and getting some of the most intense white areas to plan my composition around them.
I worked on the deepest background area and brought it to a near finish so that I could develop toward the viewer. Quite often I will do this with skies and wooded backgrounds, though in this work there is a focal point that I am purposely pushing back.
Once I had this I began filling in the far creek bank and started filling out the foreground. The creek itself began to be worked as well.
I continued working on the creek and the reflections as well as the bubbling water and all of its flows and tumbles.
The foreground rocks were one of my last concerns as were the final highlights and shadows. For this part of the image I actually set up a small still life on a stool in my studio and lit some rocks from my rock collection from the angle that the image had to get a better feel for them.
The final stages were all of the little highlights and shadows as well as details in the water and reflections that needed to be made after letting it sit for a while. Sometimes I find myself making major changes after a painting sits a while, and sometimes, like this one, they just get a few final strokes.
