Painting a Canadian Scene

A good friend of mine is in Canada right now on vacation - Banff which is in Alberta, Canada. I won't mention my friend's name since I don't want to advertise that they're out of town. She's been sending me photos of all the beautiful scenery. She and I both paint a lot of landscapes, and so she knows I love photos of gorgeous landscapes. Last night she sent me a series of photos, along with a video. The video was awe-inspiring with the magnificent scenery. So as I played it, I took a bunch of screen shots. I asked if she minded if I painted one of them, and she said of course I could paint any of the photos she sent me. She will be painting a lot while she's there.

So here's my "Canadian Calm" painting that I finished today.

"Canadian Calm" oil on 12x24 linen panel

The thing about this painting is that it is so pretty (to me) when I look at the actual painting, but the photos I've made of it all look kinda blah. It has a lot of color that doesn't show up on the photograph.

I just looked at the painting again and realized that the front line of trees and the back line of the mountains follow the same general outline. I looked at the photograph my friend sent me, and the far mountain line doesn't really have that dip in the middle.  I need to go back and take out the dip and straighten the line to just below the top of the mountain to the right of the middle of the painting.  Then I need to lighten up the tall mountain right on the right edge of the painting so that the line of trees in front of it will show up a little more clearly.

So . . . tomorrow I will work on it more.
And . . . here is the final painting - with the mountain leveled out, I worked on making the clouds similar to the photo, and lightened the mountain on the far right. I like it much better now. And I am done with it. When I look at the actual painting, I love it - love the colors especially - the purples and pinks and blues.

"Canadian Calm" Oil on 12x24 linen panel