Horse Heaven Hills 1 Study

Horse Heaven Hills 1 Study. Oil on Linen Panel. 6" x 8".

This past couple of weeks I've worked on a number of studies of eastern Washington landscapes. I'm preparing for a large and interesting series of paintings over there and thinking through how to merge the quality of the landscape and light with indirect painting. Many of the yellow paints I like best are opaque and thus, not suitable for glazing.

This was painted with an underpainting of Vasari Shale and Gamblin Transparent Earth Yellow. Over that I layered Vasari Naples Yellow (I have a really big, to-die-for tube of the stuff) and Transparent Earth Yellow mixed with a translucent Holbein gray. Some layers were toned down with the Shale to add a dusty quality. After all, what we remember as 'yellow' is often a brown. Oh, and I used a bit of that gritty Williamsburg Brown Ochre in this too.

The sky is a mix of Williamsburg T-Z White, Gamblin Indanthrone Blue, Gamblin Manganese Blue Hue (sadly the real stuff is too toxic), the Naples Yellow and Holbein Cad Yellow Lt. Over that I glazed w/ a bit of Hansa Yellow light, to blur the edges.

Yes, the edges are blurred: my camera refused to focus, try as I might and I had to switch to manual.

Comments

Casey Klahn said…
I always look forward to your Eastern WA paintings.
April 9, 2010 at 5:53 PM
Katherine van Schoonhoven said…
I love this! Eastern Washington holds a special place in my heart -- it's where my kids went to college. I loved traveling to The Palouse for Dads' and Moms' weekends.
April 9, 2010 at 9:40 PM
Lisa McShane said…
Thank you Casey! I'm really excited about this new series. I've enjoyed painting fog and rain this winter but my heart is to the east.

Katherine - thanks for stopping by my blog! Isn't that drive the best? My husband and I found our way to Unionville a couple of summers ago and thought we were in heaven.
April 9, 2010 at 11:50 PM
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