The painting is inspired by the start of the Kyeburn Diggings outside St. Bathans in the Danseys Pass in the middle of the South Island of New Zealand. Cloud, light, and shadow cast a mood that mirrored ours as we hurried through to get home before the March 2020 Level 4 Lockdown in New Zealand.
I love colour, so I decided against a monochromatic rendering. Rather, I wanted to slightly exaggerate the contrast between light and dark. I chose lemon yellow, cadmium yellow and ochre. French Ultramarine, alizarin crimson, and a touch of yellow ochre created the clouds. Of course, I used titanium white too. More earth tones mixed with sap green served my needs for grass and darker contrasting places.
The high chroma of the yellow was cut back with titanium white and touches of French ultramarine.
I’m okay that these works are stylised works of the places they represent. This is a personal victory. Relax. Let perfection go. Have fun.
The result from Day 4 is entitled “Journey Through Danseys Pass, St. Bathans III“. The painting is for sale.
Be sure to watch the time-lapse video below.
