Rocks in the Bow River

12 x 16 Acrylic on canvas paper.

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Comment by Tammy Wolcott on February 21, 2013 at 10:20: Thanks Deb, I have to admit this is one of my favourites too. I really liked painting it and I was happy with the results.

Comment by deb hill on February 17, 2013 at 5:32: I missed this. I really like it. Very peaceful.

Comment by Tammy Wolcott on June 24, 2012 at 1:55: Thanks Ruby. I really had fun painting this one - the time just flew by as I worked on it. I think I will try some other paintings with rocks in water.

Comment by Gregg S. Geary on June 11, 2012 at 14:05: The video where Richard talks about the challenge of painting rocks is his Painters Workshop #4 (https://www.onlinefilefolder.com/3sZTgqcFWqLc0y) called Pa Beach, Great Barrier Island. He just comments that they are an organic form that can be difficult to paint and in the example he works on it is further complicated by dappled light and shadows.

Comment by Tammy Wolcott on June 11, 2012 at 6:22: I haven't tried painting lava rock before. Let me see what I can find out and I will let you know if I come up with anything. Where did you see Richard's work on that - do you remember which video? I think I have most of them.

Comment by Gregg S. Geary on June 11, 2012 at 6:09: Thanks for the encouragement. I know exactly what you mean about the idea of the image being perfect in your head but the execution of it being much more problematic. I am not sure if you will know any tips on this but your knowledge of rocks might help. I find that painting groupings of rocks such as outcroppings, cliffs, or even a rock wall is really difficult for me. Richard Robinson even mentions this difficulty in one of his videos. We have lots of very dark lava rock here in Hawaii. They look black but I render them in a mix of ultramarine and alizarin crimson and grayed down with some cad orange. The tricky bit is getting the group of rock to look distinctive and not like a big blob of color. Once I get the massed shape painted in and try to break it up into separate rock formations it can look either formulaic or just a mess. I try to capture the shadings with the various angles of light but still have not gotten it down too well. Richard makes it look easy but it was encouraging to hear him say it is not. Was wondering if you have success with this problem and any tips on handling it.

Comment by Tammy Wolcott on June 11, 2012 at 5:43: No problem. I am a beginner too so I know what it is like - trying to learn new techniques. I can often see how I want it in my head, but trying to translate that to a painting is a real challenge. Make sure you let me know how it goes for you.

Cheers,

Tammy

Comment by Gregg S. Geary on June 11, 2012 at 5:10: Tammy,

Thanks so much for your method on this painting. I will give it a try sometime soon and see how it goes. I will try it in a study and then maybe move on to a larger canvas. I am just beginning to learn to paint and am trying to learn the techniques and methods as much as possible. Your information is really helpful so thanks for taking the time to share it so freely.

Comment by Tammy Wolcott on June 11, 2012 at 2:07: Actually Gregg this only took me about 6 hours to paint. I went really free form on the rocks and water - I pulled out all my greens and golds, started by painting the lighter gold rocks very loosely, then layered on lots of different greens and kept painting lots of layers until I liked it. Then I just painted on little freeform strips of white (with a very tiny bit of grey) on top. I had to use 2 coats of the white. That was it. I did have a photo that I worked from which helped me for the placement of the reflected light. It was lots of fun. I enjoyed it more than any other painting I have done.