Taking One to the Next Level

FALL COLOR • BIG CEDAR • DOGWOOD CANYON

"Autumn Portal" 18 x 18, oil on canvas

When I was painting this scene from life at the Big Cedar Paint Out, I knew it was one I would want to do larger when I got back to the studio. The original sold at the event so I was left to work with a couple of photos of the plein air piece and the scene, neither of which did it justice. The rest would be up to memory and imagination. It's one of my most ambitious paintings to date. After the block in of the shadow areas I finished it in sections so that I could work wet in wet throughout. Besides the natural harmony of the scene, I tried to use the fall leaves to connect it all together. I also reserved the lightest lights, darkest shadows and most intense color for inside the archway and upstream.