GORE "Y" STAGE!...YOU HAVE TO GO THROUGH THE UGLY DUCKLING STAGE TO GET TO THE HOPEFUL SWAN!

In every painting there is usually an ugly duckling stage...USUALLY it comes in the beginning as you are putting in a background or sketching something in.  For these "layer" long skinnies I have found it can come anywhere during the process.  For all practical purposes I am painting several different paintings and blending them into one complete painting.  As I move downward I am often changing my mind from what I had originally wondered about doing to what it becomes.  Things can change as the painting shows itself.

I put the meadow with the yellow and purple tiny flowers and a hill that originally had pines all along it...and at the bottom is the dark color laid in for what will eventually be aspen.  The aspen will come much above the dark color...THIS is where I make decisions...

First...just what do I do about the pines on the steep sloping hill...will I put some in and lay aspen in on top for added depth or do I skip them.?..I will play with that decision today...

Second...Do I bring the dark colors up a bit to eliminate the "line" that always screams BORING negative shape...probably so I answer myself...

Third...the foliage on the aspen trees...hmmm...this piece has shown itself to be a spring"ish" piece with the spring snow on the mountains, but color bursting on the scene of the lower elevations...so a decision as to HOW I will approach the leaves of the aspen as well as COLOR of the foliage will be another decision...COLOR and VALUE will play a big part here as I see where the tops of the trees will land and what is behind them...all the while keeping in mind the fact that one "layer" blends into another...AND...always keeping in mind the negative shapes that are made (the outlines of the subject matter at hand) can sometimes make or break a painting...

ALL IN ALL...it's a fun piece to do as it is a challenge and things can change in an instant.  The next photo will be quite a change from what you see here as far as what happens towards the lower parts of this..so stay tuned!!

HAPPY CREATING!!