In this painting I was trying to get a lot of movement and power in the lower part, the rapids and the rocks are the center of interest and really need to control the painting. I understated the background evergreens to keep the focus on the story. Use strong colors, don’t over mix and get your brushes really involved no laying back and just flipping the brush with your wrist, use your whole arm.
Brush in the sky, with cerulean blue and cobalt violet, leaving some whites for the indication of clouds. Paint the trees bottom to top with a round brush flipping the brush off the paper. Alternate New gamboge and cobalt blue to create a lively green.
Paint in the rocks with a strong dark mixture of burnt sienna, permanent rose, ultramarine blue. Use a flat brush a leave some lights in the rocks and try for a really nice moving shape. Don’t just paint the rocks feel them they are hard and have been pushed up from under the ground give them power
Scrape the highlights with the end of a beveled handle brush, a credit card or a teflon pan scraper and reclaim the highlights.
With the side of a round brush and a mixture of cobalt blue, olive green, burnt sienna and some cerulean blue paint the water. Really say moving water not some flat pond this stuff is really moving, leave some lights and texture. Remember this is the center of interest. Step up and paint it like it is powerful and crashing. Oh and I don’t mix all of the colors together I mix and add, mix and add, get variety.Add in some dark accents on the rocks and paint the trees in the background, now keep these abbreviated not too much detail or they will take away from the center of interest. Enjoy this painting it where you air out all of your improved brushwork.