Finally Finished High Desert Painting

[viking57]

Hi David - Yeah, sometimes letting them sit for a while is a good thing. Funny the things you can see very clearly with a bit of time. Thanks.

Hi Ben - I think this one has a really nice look to the atmopshere...it got better with the touch ups but of course i'm prejudiced, haha. Thanks Ben.

Hi Sue - All good words.....I get some really compliments on my work but I'm very aware that I've got a long way to go. Each painting is a learning tool and you have to push yourself to paint harder things and try and improve on the things you can paint.
I've heard of those formulas too...one painting a day for a year, 500, 1000 paintings etc. Makes the road seem endless. I'm happy with just trying to improve with the next painting each time. Lots of mileage painting wise cannot hurt. Thanks Sue.

Hi Maxine - I like the corrections to the foreground plants. They were sloppy in the first version. I'm really glad I found this one in storage the other day...has taught me some very good lessons. Thanks!

Hi Brian - Oh man, I know what those are about and wouldn't wish one on any painter. Glad it might have given you some ideas Brian. Cool!

Hi Arnie - Thanks! That was a pretty interesting spot to work on...painted the tree firest and then when it was dry enough I went back in the lighter greens and sky color to create that backlighting....a little different but neat looking all the same.
Ron

[Lucy12]

This is beautiful Ron, glad you went back to it. I love the rabbit brush and you did it so well! I lived in Santa Fe for a few years and I think this is the same little plant that was all over there but we called it chamisa. It paints the desert when it's in bloom, so pretty. So your painting made me think of my happy time there. Thanks for sharing your color recipe, maybe I'll get brave and try it someday.

[oldradagast]

Lovely tweaking to produce a really good painting - nice job showing off the desert beauty!

[viking57]

Hi Lucy - It's called Chamisa in Colorado and NM and probably a few other states...that is the Indian name for rabbitbrush. Glad you like the changes Lucy, I like the results too.

Hi Matthew - Yep, just took a few more hours of tweaking here and there to pull it together....glad to have not wasted such a big canvas too Thanks Matthew.
Ron

[Flycatcher10]

Fun to see how your vision evolves as an artist.

The end piece is a beautiful scene - feels like the area is surrounded by the heat of the day. Gorgeous work on the tree and weeds/grasses.

[Deborah Secor]

Nice, Ron. Love the underlying abstraction. It's as if the chamisa and the distant tree were just taking turns twirling and you caught them at it! It dances.

[viking57]

Hi Mary - Yeah, it kind of amazed me that the minute I saw this since I painted it just how much needed fixing and the rabbitbrush problem stood out like a sore thumb. I guess time is all that was needed to see it all. Thanks.

Hi Deborah - Nice to see you in the forum again, you must be busy out there. Since this was winter the chamisa was an entirely different set of colors, beautiful in late afternoon light. It had that Christmassy feel to me. I'm sure I have only caught about 1/3rd of how it really looked. Thanks Deborah.
Ron

[sundiver]

Well I certainly wouldn't have laughed at the first version but love the atmosphere and mood of the second. Never heard of rabbitbrush; interesting stuff.

[iroquois]

Ron, very nice painting, James

[ErnstG]

Ron, Ihre Laub-, Gräser- und Busch-Malerei
ist hervorragend - alles mit Leichtigkeit und
harmonischer Farbwahl ausgeführt!
Leider in Aquarell nicht so leicht umsetzbar.
Ernst

[viking57]

Hi Wendy - I guess rabbitbrush is a southwestern desert plant. I know they have it in Utah, Colorado and maybe even Montana. Maybe it's just a western plant. Thanks!

Hi James - Hey, thanks a bunch for your comments, I appreciate it.

Grüß Gott Ernst - Die Wüste ist ein wunderschöner Ort und die Farben sind ein Geschenk der Natur. Ich bin nur der Bote. Die Wüste wäre ein chalenge für die Verwendung Farben auf Wasserbasis sicher sein. Vielen Dank mein Freund.

Gruss Gott Ernst - The desert is a beautiful place and the colors are a gift from nature. I am just the messenger. The desert would be a chalenge for using waterbased paints for sure. Thanks my friend.
Ron