CANYON ROAD with an Art Lesson by Tom Brown

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5x7 INCH ORIGINAL OIL PAINTING ON MASONITE PANEL by TOM BROWN

Nature gives us too much; far more than we can use in a single painting. So we must be selective in what we include, eliminate, emphasize or minimize in a painting. Saturday I demonstrated this in a Plein Air Workshop I am teaching and this is another good example of that.

You’ll notice that I chose to feature only a selected portion of this sweeping panorama to become the focus of my painting. The photo below shows more of the scene. I emphasized what adds to the “fine art” aspect of the composition. And minimized or left out what didn’t contribute anything of value.

For example I kept the phone poles and wires, and even the small signs along the roadside. This gave a bit more “real world” feeling to the picture. It’s what was really there, and I wanted to include that in my painting.

This is a road leading into one of my favorite painting spots in this canyon, and the mountains in the distance are simply stunning late in the day when the setting sun washes rich colors across that part of the scene. It's a plein air painter's paradise. Enjoy the view.

If you have questions or comments I’d love to hear from you.

Email me at tombrownstudio@cox.net

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