Step 1
This painting of Zion’s Mt. Kinesava is done on Arches 140 lb. watercolor paper, stretched and mounted. A light pencil sketch with a 4H pencil gives me some guidelines to work with. The sky is painted first using a wet-into-wet watercolor technique, then broad glazes of color are used to block in the cliffs.
Step 2
With the basic values in place on the cliffs, I move into the foreground trees and shrubs which will frame the cliffs. In this area I am creating a feeling of texture as I use both wet-into-wet and drybrush techniques to create the illusion of tree shapes.
Step 3
This closeup shows the techniques I use to build the underglazes. Both wet-into-wet and negative painting on dry paper are used to create positive and negative shapes.
Step 4
Some of the shadow areas are now darkened, and I add detail to both the distant cliffs and the foreground. I use negative painting to create shapes in the foliage and tree branches. The whole painting now comes together with foreground, middle ground and distance.
