Mississippi Bluff

I do not paint many landscapes these days, but I was drawn to this photo taken of the Mississippi River bluff near my home. While I painted I was aware of the beauty of this locality-which is why I choose to live here. My goal here is to present a loose, yet believable image. When doing a still life, I can think more about arbitrary color and shape choices. But in this landscape I need to project a plausible image and therefore think of warmer/ brighter colors to say ‘closer’ and cooler/ grayer colors to say ‘farther’. Also I am am conscious of make 'good shapes'. Meaning I alter real shapes to make interesting shapes. I am satisfied with this and enjoyed the challenge of ‘making it right’.

BTW, I did not use resist to save whites. Rather, when the painiting was near finish, I cut a template shapes from waxed freezer paper and wiped out with a sponge.

an another entitled: Mississippi Backwater