Welcome back, paint friends.  This week I have started the painting of the photo depicted below.  I have included 5 photos of its early stages, seen below.

The series of photos below shows the progress of the work so far.  I began with a sketch in paint of the scene setting down the major elements.  It was done in a thin, watery blue paint.  Thin paint will be easier to change if something goes wrong.  I chose blue because it will fit in well with the final colors I intend.

Notice that I am already editing, reducing the number of details to produce a bolder less fussy final painting.  I’ve said it before, suggest more, don’t actually paint every single detail.  Please note that the shape of the section of sky at the end of the road is not final.  (Of course, everything is subject to change!)  Likewise, the colors will change.  

At this point I’m covering the white canvas with colors that will lend themselves to the final result.  Some areas start off dark and will receive lighter highlights and others will start light and go darker as the painting proceeds. (Like the 4 tree trunks, yes, they’re trees!)

The paint on the roadway, looking a bit like a river now, is thin.  In fact, I’ve used several layers of thin paint in the same manner as watercolors.  The top layers allow some of the lower layers to show through, providing depth.      

By the way, I’m not sure how well this will look in the end but I will stay with it and see what happens.  (These things take on lives of their own after a certain point.)  Right now it is quite dark/murky but the end of the road will be very bright, emerging from the tunnel of trees into brilliant sushine.  Light at the end of the tunnel, so to speak.            

I’m already making changes to things I’ve just put on the canvas.  The light patches on the roadway (foreground) are painted out here but will be repainted later on.  I just didn’t like the way they looked.  

Well anyway, stay with me on this and I should have much more done in the near future.  I’ll be back next week with another exciting adventure.  Thanks for your continued support!