A Sunny Day in Santa Fe

My first step is to mix the paint I’ll be using for the sky and desert foliage. Notice all of the colors lined up on the left side of my palette. This is the extra paint remaining from my last piece, A Blanket of Beauty. I use these colors as the base for the mixtures in the Santa Fe landscape.

In order to accentuate the White Hollyhocks in the foreground I decided not to have any clouds. So this will be a typical, clear blue New Mexico summer sky. Near the horizon I use a mix of Pthalo Blue + White. A slightly darker mix of Ultramarine Blue + White is used in the sky near the top of the arch.

The mountain in the far distance is made blue so it will fall behind the warmer bluff. Saved colors are used for the bluff, sage, chamisa and the rocks along the stream. When painting a stream the rocks are blocked in first. I then paint the water above the waterfall with a mix of Ultramarine Blue + White. In the front pool the water is brighter so it will come forward. Here I use mixes of Pthalo Blue + White, with a tiny bit of Lemon Hansa Yellow added in the very front.

Reflections are fun to paint. After the stream is completely covered I use a large Flat brush to pull the rock color straight down into the water. Next time you are near a quiet body of water observe the reflections. The water acts as a mirror, with the reflected image directly underneath the source. Because the water I’m painting is choppy the reflections aren’t exact mirror images. Instead they are indications of the colors above the flowing water.

At the base of the rocks a lighter, broken stroke is made to delineate the foam that collects along the edge. The top of the waterfall is bright because the sunlight glistens on the flowing water. The bubbling stream is now complete. Jack and I love these through the door paintings at this stage, with the scene finished and the rest of the piece sketched in. “Looks kinda cool,” as he would say! To proceed through the step-by-step click on the title and arrow in the upper right corner of the page. Hugs, Mikki Senkarik

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