Painting - Rocky Mountain Bull Elk

This is my latest painting of an autumn landscape with a big bull elk bugling.  It represents what I view as a classic Colorado fall scene.  The elk reference I used in this picture was taken from a photograph I took years ago in Rocky Mountain National Park.  The autumn landscape was taken near the Silverthorne/Vail area on a fall colors photography trip, while the sagebrush in the foreground was taken from yet another photograph.  Putting all these images together in a rough composite allowed me to tweak the composition exactly the way I wanted it.  I then adjusted the lighting so they fit together.  Artist license... it's allowed!

Elk reference photo

Inpiration background photo

Photoshopped reference photo

 Recently, I have been working on my technique with the goal to paint faster without sacrificing quality.  I try to use a larger brush for much of the piece to fill in sections faster giving the illusion of texture and detail, especially in the background.  Another thing that I'm learning is that using a solid reference photograph goes a long way toward creating that realistic, engaging image.  It's fun to compare images from the past to see how you've grown as an artist.  Below is a similar painting I completed when I was in college 15 years ago.  Side by side with this current one, you can see a lot of technical improvements:

15 years ago

Today

Last, here's a complete time-lapse video of the entire painting process:

Painting - Aspen Leaf Progression

Just finished a series of watercolor paintings of an aspen leaf as it changes colors in the fall.  I used the same leaf template for all four images.  The first leaf (left) is summer green.  The second is half turned from green to orange/yellow.  The third leaf is showing the peak autumn color, and the fourth is withered brown from when the season ends. 



Click on the images below to view on the artist website/order prints:

Aspen Trees - Mixed Media Art Project

Who doesn't love Rocky Mountain golden aspen trees!  This project can be done anywhere from 1st - 5th grade and is super easy to follow along with.  Some of the art concepts covered include: overlapping, shadows/light source, splattering technique, and positive/negative space.


Step 1:

Draw vertical lines with a pencil to create the first tree. Add diagonal lines behind the first tree to add two more.  Add another in the corner.  Then add lines coming from the tree trunks for branches.

Step 2:

Now, paint in the negative space with a black water based paint.

Step 3:

Next, splatter wet, black paint all over the picture to give the aspens their spotty texture.  

Step 4: 

Then, outline the edges of the trees over the original pencil lines with oil pastel (or something dark) to make them stand out.

Step 5:

Finger paint using a thick acrylic yellow/orange paint to add leaves between the tree branches.

All done!

Here are a few student examples from 2nd grade: 

Fall Color Trip - 2017

The start of October begins the end of the fall season in the high country of Colorado.  I wish this colorful time lasted longer than a couple weeks.  I suppose the short and sweet window of photographic opportunities is what makes it so exciting.  This year, we took a family trip to the San Juans and chose photography locations that would be easily accessible so we could take the kids along for the ride.  We stayed 2 nights at a hotel near Ridgway and 1 night camping in the Uncompahgre National Forest.  The colors overall were a bit dull compared to our visit to this area 3 years ago, but there were still many pockets of bright gold.

This is a big photo dump from the trip.  It's divided into 2 major areas:




Oray/Ridgway/Telluride

 

Crystal Lake near Ouray

Mt. Sneffels

Dallas Divide

Last Dollar Road

Ralph Lauren's Ranch

The Cimarron Mountains

Owl Creek Pass

Precipice Peak

All of these images are for sale as photography prints at http://aaronspong.com/collections/autumn