SUMMER EVENING, PART 5

After much time spent working over the rocks, I decided to finish the figure trying to bring completion to the work. I started by slowly laying in washes of color building up tone and form. This process took a surprisingly long time but eventually I got to the point where I was happy. I'll put the painting away for awhile and will probably do some work to it at a later date but for now this is as far as I can take it. Size is 22" x 30" (560mm x 762mm), watercolor on Arches paper.

SUMMER EVENING, PART 4

Most of the rocks are complete at this point. Usually while working, I'll step back from time to time and see what areas need more work and selectively pay more attention to those parts as needed. It's a case of fine tuning when I'm this far along, seeking a balance and if needed, I'll scrub out some areas so that I can re-work them, trying all the while to get closer to the final image I have in my head. I'm also adding subtle washes to the figure and slowly bringing it along as well. This painting has been a bit of a marathon, working on and off for a few months - hopefully not too far to go now.

SUMMER EVENING, PART 3

I completed the first pass of the large rock using mostly thin washes as before then followed with smaller details for both texture and to help shape the various rock forms. More work was done to the further rock shelf keeping things light and underdeveloped at this point. Washes to the figure also helped maintain a general tonal harmony as I was careful to keep both parts of the painting coming along at the same time. This helped me get a better overall feeling of the work and was easier to see what part to work on next. It's getting there but still lots to do though!