Ok here it is at long last, the latest painting that has taken me weeks to paint… as you know I love the challenge of painting water because its one of the hardest things to paint.. this painting has a lot of water in it, the double cascade of water in the background, the still lake in the foreground and the dripping water, I also adore the faded ancient grandeur of the stonework and brick pillar with the water cascading over it, and the natural rocks and mosses on the right hand side but the focal point of this painting is on the left hand side with the stone steps leading down to the water the creepers growing down the walls, the archway of stones making a vertical point to almost nothing which certainly adds to the magical aspect..there are a few brightly coloured spots of magic in the air too above the steps.
I used the same colours throughout to add harmony to the painting, burnt sienna, yellow ochre, cadmium yellow, yellow hansa, cadmium red, bright blue, ultramarine blue, white, black. I first drew out the diagonal that goes from the high right hand side to to low left hand side as its that that draws the eye through the painting, the vertical on the right hand side of the painting of the rocks and on the left had side frames the painting. The focal point is the gap between the rocks where the steps rise up to where the magical spots of colour are. I painted the background on right hand side to the right of the stone pillar first, then the cascade of water, then the lake in the foreground, then the rocks on the right hand side, then the rocks and creepers on the left hand side, then the steps with the dark shadows of the mossy rocks and the thin rocky point, when all of that was done I then checked that the colours were right for the overall harmonious feel of the painting, theres dripping water, and power in the cascade of water thats all very difficult to get right which is why its taken me weeks to paint, starting with large brushes and then using a very small brush to for the finer details.
It is painting in acrylics on block canvas, measuring 30 x 24 inches, the title is ‘The lake that waits’. Every time I look at this painting I want to swim in that lake…. What do you think?
