Distance

In between paintings I decided to get out a student board to practice some distance work. I wanted to just do a simple sketch pushing the distance in a painting. Distance adds depth to your work and is always something to work on. I muted down the distant mountain range and used a blue/grey mix to wash out the far off valley floor. That looked good enough but I wanted more so I added some trees way off in the distance...greying them more as they receded down into the valley. I could have done a better job of it had I gone with a larger canvas...this one was 9 X 12 and it's just a sketch with the idea in mind, not a finished piece in mind. The rocks were added to increase the size of foreground elements adding even more to the feeling of distance. I think it worked out ok and is a good lesson to me to use with future paintings. It has that middle of the day hazy-feel from summer heat which is cool to paint. I look at the way I've painted the mountains and it reminds me of the San Gabriel mountains when seen from a distance in summer. Coming up the 605 freeway towards Irwindale in summer the mountains look very much like this down there at midday.