Holidaying over, I have now started a fascinating commission combining a few photographs to create a painting which illustrates actual memories and the dreams of what could have been.
In the beginning I sketched the picture onto gesso primed board before adding texture and painting a wash of ochre to give background warmth. I painted the structure of the viaduct in burnt umber as I didn't want to lose my sketch while painting the sky.
Next I worked on the textures of the sky applying white with palette knives over a wash of paynes gray mixed with small amounts of blues and softening the edges with a brush. I also started painting blocks of colour that make up the viaduct and the couples' clothes and skin.
In the third photo you can see I have added greens to the meadow and worked further on the sky to make it appear less foreboding. I didn't want the couple running off for cover as a storm builds in the distance!
Today I roughly painted the trees and started to put detail on the viaduct. I'm quite pleased with these first few stages but there's a lot more detail, depth and texture yet to add. Keep watching!
