Just below is the initial value/color study. For that, I first used just one color, a fun color called "Moonglow" by Daniel Smith that separates into subtle pinks and blues as it dries, to decide where the mediums and darks would go. (I left the lights white.)
Then I added a few pops of color here and there, to begin to experiment with what to use for a color palette.
From there I sketched the composition onto an 10" x 10" format, and painted, trying to stay as loose as possible, and trying not to get caught up in details, especially in the middle ground and back ground. I thought the viewer's eye might first go from tree to tree, but I also thought the diagonal pattern in the foreground might lead the eye to those lighter rocks that go up at an angle just behind the trees.
It's not a perfect painting, but there's some appeal in it for me, both visually and symbolically. In early August I hiked Colorado foothills northwest of Ft. Collins with two long-time friends. We stood by these trees one day; to me, they represent a deepening sisterhood that transcends time and place.
Here's the value/color study, below.
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