Work in progress

When I decided to do an oil painting of the Grand Canyon, I wanted to do it large enough to do justice to the expansiveness of the canyon.  I don't normally paint large works, so when I chose to do "Patrolling the Rim" on a 30x40" canvass, that for me was at the upper end of largeness.  Though small compared to what some other artists do, on a scale of inches vs.feet, it still took almost two months to finish.  I started with a sketch directly on the canvass using acrylic paint; dividing the canvass into four sectors helped me get the mesas and side canyons positioned and sized correctly.  I then sketched a zone-tailed hawk on paper and moved it around to determine best placement to compliment the flow of the canyon shapes.  Painting from rear to foreground, I constantly tinkered with colors and values.  Early on, I decided to reduce the size of the hawk to emphasize the size of the canyon, reducing the role of the hawk in the painting.  Dark trees and rock formations in the foreground give the painting depth. You can view the completed piece in the Landscapes gallery.  I hope I was able to convey at least a little bit the feeling of awe one feels standing on the rim of the canyon.