Mazama Winter

MAZAMA WINTER 12-1/2" x 10" Acrylic on panel

A pencil sketch kicks things off. I draw right over a coat of shop made gesso that I apply to 1/2" thick plywood panels. I usually start with the sky, working down the panel and forward in the image. Next, I roughed in the ski track corduroy and then worked on the skier. Lots of back and forth for about an hour until things tightened up sufficiently. Quickly threw in the sun and some trees on the low horizon using just three colors - these elements are distant, so I keep their forms simple. Then scumbling in the snowy tracks with pale yellow and a palette knife. The last step involved outlining the foreground forms using black where appropriate or a slightly lighter blue in order to create some motion and the stylized look that I am after. Sometimes I use a thin sharpie to make certain lines crisper, but not here.