In 2015 I visited the Blue Mountains in New South Wales, Australia. I stayed in the town of Katoomba where at the end of the road is an amazing view of the 'Three Sisters', a rock formation with the blue mountains in the background.
The Three Sisters was such an amazing site, I had to paint it!!!
Three Sisters, 8" x 10", oil on wooden panel.
This is one of the reference photos I used.
Now I will show you my painting process of how I created this art work.
I start with a burnt sienna base which warms up the painting and really helps with colour and tone.
I start by blocking in the sky and the distant hills. I used desaturated colour to make it recede.
I use a desaturated green for the distant foliage by mixing ultramarine blue, yellow oxide, titanium white and a little burnt sienna. I start painting in the rocks in the foreground using a mixture of yellow oxide, burnt umber, and burnt sienna. My shadows are darkest here as it is in the foreground.
I mix a darker tone for the hills in the mid-ground using a combination of ultramarine blue, burnt umber, quinacridone magenta and titanium white.
I use my most saturated greens in the foreground to make them come forward in the painting.
Here I'm in the modelling phase of the painting, working the paint and building up the fine detail.
This is the final painting, I add my lightest tones last.
The Three Sisters is an amazing site to see.
I hope you liked this blog post, I have more painting demos on my website: samuelearp.com