Big Sky

This little landscape is a 5.5x10 inch oil painting on sanded pastel paper. Perhaps it should actually be called a skyscape since it is more about the the depth of perspective in the sky than it is about the landscape itself. The trail leading out of the meadow and seemingly into the sky serves to emphasize the expansive depth of the sky.

A word about the technique of painting on paper. The initial underpainting is done with paint heavily diluted with turpentine. This gives the paint qualities more closely associated with water colors, but with a great deal more control. Subsequent layers are thicker, and the final touches, the highlights on the trees for example, are directly from the tube.