Over the years, we have stopped by this site many times on our way to southern Maine. Spring and fall are the times of our visits. There is a certain peacefulness that is hard to describe. The river flows through marsh grasses and on into the woods where it narrows to a brook.
These two sketches show different atmospheric conditions at the site. The one on the left illustrates a midday view; the one on the right is a misty atmosphere as would occur in the very early morning.
I’ve decided to paint the scene showing early morning light and a moist atmosphere.
Gamboge, Alizarin Crimson, Winsor Blue, and Winsor Green are my color choices.
As this painting will be showing mist, I start by wetting the paper all over. I will need soft edges and it is easier to create them at the beginning. Gamboge is applied into the wetness in a variegated wash. A touch of Alizarin Crimson is dropped in randomly. Some of the paper is left untouched.
Once the first wash is dry, I create some muted mixes (JUNE 2006) for the tops of the distant trees. The resulting colors are applied on dry paper. The area under the tops of the trees is moistened with water to make a soft edge with no color.The right front is painted with diluted muted colors and some of the edges are softened with water.
I continue adding color and soft shapes. Each edge that I paint is partially softened with water. This softening creates the illusion of mist. As this stage, I am starting to evaluate the misty effect. To see it more clearly, I will need to show shapes with well-defined edges and contrast.
After the paper has dried, I mask a few details in the water and in the foliage of the front trees. If I want to continue working wet in wet, the masked areas will give me details to show the difference between what is in the mist and what is not. It is this difference that creates the illusion of mist.
As I painted, I noticed that all the detail and strong color would be on the right side of the painting. I, usually surround the area of light with darks and/or details. My motive is to have the viewer look at the area of light.
I have darkened the bottom left corner in the original sketch. This is a safe way to make the decision of whether to put something in the left corner or not.
When mixing any two colors together, I add a touch of a third color to mute the color. By surrounding the mist and sky with muted colors, they will glow. It is at this point that I can really see the mist effect. The front trees and the land have defined edges. They were painted on dry paper. The difference between these edges and the soft edges are what makes the background atmosphere appear to be misty.
The remainder of MORNING MIST would be created with detail and value adjustments. The misty effect has been achieved and it is not necessary to touch it further.
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