The Grand Canyon never ceases to amaze and inspire me in my artwork. Every trip, every sunset, and every visit adds more pages to an endless book of wonders. In this post, I will share some insight into my process of painting the Grand Canyon. This particular view was from the Grandview Trail, maybe a half mile down from the trail head. My wife and I had spent all afternoon venturing down about three miles for a day-hike and planned to catch the sunset on the way up. It was one of those surprising sunsets because I thought the sunset was done until the sun found a hole in the clouds to create some real magical colors in the Grand Canyon. This is what I wanted to paint, the magical glow of the sunset on the Grand Canyon rim. Here is my reference photograph, looking east toward Desert Tower:
Grandview Sunset – reference photograph
To top it off, distant rain showers add more drama on the far horizon. The composition seems simple enough and simple designs make strong paintings. I wanted to emphasize the shadows and bring more color in the clouds above as reflected light. I chose an 11×17 inch canvas panel, repeating a long shape to emphasize the low horizon of the canyon rim. Okay, so what do artists do with extra paint when finished with a painting? Sometimes I play with paint abstractly on small panels or I rough in my next painting. This “roughing in” step is quick and spontaneous, allowing for a broad treatment of shapes. I don’t worry about correct colors, just wanting to set up the composition in it’s primitive form. Here is the roughed in oil painting:
“Grandview Sunset” – roughed in
Notice the sense of movement in the sky and a nice atmospheric feeling as well. A few days later, I came back to finishing the painting. I initially thought I would use a palette knife, but switched to a #10 brush after realizing I prefer a softer treatment of a brush for a sunset scene. I first worked on the sky, to set the stage for a complimentary color scheme to the sunlit canyon rim.
“Grandview Sunset” – sky detail
I mixed deep purples for the clouds in shadow and pulled out soft peaches and brighter colors closer to the horizon.
“Grandview Sunset” – canyon detail
Down on the canyon rim, I mixed warm variations of orange for the glowing, sunlit canyon rim. I still wanted a strong sense of shadows, choosing a darker value for the features in front and warm purples further back. Notice the broad brush strokes. I like to think myself as an abstract painter, working with blocks of color. I especially like painting wet-on-wet so I can move paint easily. I am careful not to over work the painting and creating muddy colors. My colors need to be fresh and bright, to mimic the experience of seeing the sunset in person. And, here is the final painting:
“Grandview Sunset” – 11×17, oil
Can’t you just taste the air and grab the light? Enjoy!