Mossy Rocks (painted 20-21 October 2018)

11x14 acrylic on canvas

Here is the painting I was working on yesterday and again today. I have painted a small stream as it passes around some moss covered rocks. There is a bunch of brush and dead branches in the background. The focal point is the waterfall between the left and center rock. The green of the moss is also that of a background bush which pulls the eye up and to the right. This painting came out pretty good and I have some recent work/studies to thank for it:

A Study of Rocks

9x12 acrylic on canvas pad

Rock Study

9x12 acrylic on canvas pad

The Bank

9x12 acrylic on canvas pad

These three studies were exercises from the book Secrets of Acrylic Landscape Start to Finish by Jerry Yarnell. I took a bit of the lesson from each and applied them to Mossy Rocks to see if I could adapt what I learned beyond the step-by-step lessons of the book. My intention, as I started in an earlier blog, is to paint everyday whether it is a lesson from a book or video or a composition/picture of my own creation.

I am trying to train my eye to look for scenes and objects around me that would be good subjects for paintings. I take walks around my neighborhood or in local parks taking pictures of what I think are interesting looking plants, trees, streams, fields and so on. I also try to compose the occasional still life as you saw in yesterdays post. Hopefully, I will get better at that as well as at the painting.