I felt that I had a wonderful painting day today. Any day I paint is good but today things were very good.
The center cascade came alive. Before, the water there was flat pale-blue and pink planes, with a dark curved ledge under the drop. You’ve mostly dissolved that ledge into arcing strokes of white, pink and turquoise. Now the water churns over the rock instead of sitting beside it. That’s the biggest gain.
The pool settled down. Before, the bottom was bright white water nearly as loud as the falls. Now it’s a warmer, quieter pink with that orange streak. The bottom reads as a place the water arrives, and the eye goes up to the cascade instead of out the bottom.
The water got whiter, with more paint on it. Before, pale blue dominated; now blue is an accent inside white. That gives the water more light and more body. The bit of yellow warmth in the upper-right sheet is a nice touch too.
The top-right fall got tighter. It went from a broad pale sheet to a narrower vertical drop with the dark rock beside it. That’s a clearer source.
What to watch
The center may be getting sweet. The pink and turquoise arcs are close to a rainbow, and the effect could tip from light-in-water into a decorative stripe. One or two of those arcs knocked down toward gray or white would keep the energy without the confection.
I lost some of the earlier version’s punch. The blocky version had strong dark-against-light shapes in the middle. Today’s middle is lighter overall, so the rocks carry all the contrast. A dark accent or two back inside the churn, even small ones, would anchor it.
The rocks didn’t change. That’s fine for most of them. But the bottom-center cairn, the flat rock perched on the pointed one, was already the most graphic shape in the earlier version. Now that the water around it is busier, it stands out even more. Of everything still in the painting, I’d look hardest at that.
Today’s stop…ready for a final layer
The previous days stop
The end of today’s painting…I am ready for the big tree and it’s reflection
48 × 24 commission and its partner piece to the right
