Those of you who follow my blog may recognize the reference photo for this painting from below. This is the Kokopelli with a staff that I hiked up to near Deming, NM. I took so many petroglyph photos at this site, but this is my fav...a wonderful, huge Kokopelli with a staff instead of a flute. I took this with my longest camera lens since by the time I found it, it was higher than I had the strength to climb to get closer, and I like the look of him on this pile of large boulders anyway from this angle.I tried to incorporate some compositional tips to make this read well, such as having one big boulder and a dead tree branch pointing to the center of the photo and having the Kokopelli in a "sweet spot". It was so hot at the time we found him that I wanted that to show in these rocks, also.
5 comments:
Nice job on this, Susan. Including the surrounding green foliage draws our eye right there to Kokopelli. Nice rocks, too!
Susan, I am so impressed with this painting. Your handling of the rocks is excellent..your shadows are great. The foliage above the rocks is very realistically painted - all in all - a great job.
Thanks, Ladies...I knew I had to paint this one the second I took the photo(s). I combined a few angles to get this in the composition I wanted it to have. I was pleased with the rocks, also...rocks I usually struggle mightily with them, but these cooperated quite nicely. I think rocks are one thing where one must paint the shapes of the shadows more than the objects, it just works better that way.
Beautifully executed. You are a master with landscapes. Truly a beautiful painting.
Thanks, Connie! I don't know what it is about painting landscapes, but that has been my fav, from when I first picked up a paint brush. Any landscapes we see when we are driving down a mountain highway I am immediately drawn to their composition, colors (identified in my mind by their counterpart w/c paint colors!), etc. I will never look at scenic vistas the same again, I am ruined forever!
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