Using an underpainting

Today, I decided to try another painting with a brilliant underpainting on Wallis paper. I chose a reference photo of the Koolau mountains taken from Bellows Beach. I drew in the major shapes with vine charcoal. I then used Nupastels in the colors you see above. I used the blue label turpenoid to melt the pastels into the paper. Then I let it dry for quite a while.

After the underpainting dried, I started with the sky. I put in patches of colors that I saw in the photo of the clouds and sky. After getting what I wanted on the paper, I used my fingers to blend. I added more color until I got what I wanted. From there, I moved to the mountians, dark coastal trees, and finally the water. The water on the east side of Oahu is this brilliant turquoise. I wanted to capture that. I also wanted to get the ridges and eroded valleys in the mountains. There is no clear focal area.

I worked on the water meeting the closer shoreline where there was a very small shore break. I darkened the valleys near the focal area and worked the mountains more. This painting, when it is finished, will be 12 x 20. It is done in Nupastels, Terry Ludwig Iaea Tropical set, and Great American McDaniel set, on Wallis professional white. The working title is Koolau Mountains in Waimanalo.