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Step 1

One of my favorite places on the earth is Lake Powell. I could spend my life there. It is so unique because of the clear blue water lapping against the brilliant red sandstone. This whole area [...]

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Step 6

In the finished painting you can see how the deep dark sky makes the orange cliffs glow with color. This is an example of “simultaneous contrast,” where two opposite colors on the [...]

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Step 3

I begin with the sky and the rocks, saving the water for last. In order to determine where the reflections would go I had to pretty much complete the rocks first. I then lightly sketched in where [...]

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Step 4

I wet the entire surface of the paper where the water will go and start by laying in strokes of ultramarine blue to show the soft undulations where the sky is reflected in the water.

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Step 5

Notice that the surface reflections follow the rules of linear perspective. The intervals get narrower as the ripples receed into the distance and the reflection shapes get smaller. Now the [...]

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Step 2

As always, I begin by planning my painting. This is done by doing a small, rough pencil drawing which I call a “thumbnail sketch” about 3 x 5. My goal here is to work out the big [...]