Collegiate Peaks

After hiking to Snowmass Lake, Robert and I had made special plans, a reward of sorts, for successfully making it back down the mountain trail. Our destination: The Mountain Goat Lodge near Salida, Colorado. I'm not even sure I can describe to you how good it felt to arrive at this haven after three adventurous days up in the wilderness. And after a restful night of sleep in a comfortable bed, this is the view that greeted me when I woke up the next morning. The air was still and the sun was just rising as its light gently touched this portion of the Collegiate Peaks with soft pinks and purples. Add to this scene, an occasional rooster crowing, goats and chickens wandering, waiting for their morning meal. It was ideal.

Collegiate Peaks
18 x 24", Oil on canvas
Rita Salazar Dickerson (c) 2014

Stage 1: Drawing in the composition with a brush and paint thinned with mineral spirits.

Stage 2: Blocking in the sky. I chose this warm pink for the underpainting of the sky.

Stage 3: Painting the second layer of the sky. With the pink underpainting still wet, I began brushing in the blues and purples of the clouds with the intention of leaving some the pink showing through.

Stage 4: With a large brush I applied lighter tones of white and then (with the same brush) pulled all the colors into each other.

Stage 5: Blocking in the shapes of the mountains.

Stage 6: Painting the second layer of the mountains. Once again I used a large brush and let some of the underpainting show through.

Stage 7: Painting the lower part of the mountains with grays and dark purple.

Stage 8: Blocking in the foreground. I blocked in two shades of purple...

...and added green and whites.

Stage 9: Completing the painting. Once I had the colors of the trees in place I pulled the colors into each other with a brush. This technique also softened the edges.