Watch a painting happen...
Painting One, Step Seven

Working middle-ground details...

To the left is the beginning's of middle- and foreground details. I wanted to show you this stage early so that the cumulative effect would not surprise you (the "how'd that happen" syndrome).

Below is a closer look at the middle-ground brush going in. The key to this portion is keeping continually in mind that as you come forward in the painting values darken and details focus due to atmospheric perspective plus be aware of size to not violate actual perspective. Aware but don't obsess on it, most errors won't be noticed.
And on the right, most of the middle-ground is in. You may also notice that I washed the close-up cactus with Cerulean Blue and then stroked in much more coolness into the grass with the same mixture except by stroke instead of wash.

The next step is to start the foreground. I want to strengthen the mesquite brush at the edge of the cactus and detail out the cactus.

This winter day is very even light with few shadows which makes that cactus quite challenging. We'll see what happens.
Click to go back to Watch a Painting Happen , Home Page or on to Step 8.