Sunrise Advancing - Mt. Hood Sunrise

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      Image Description

      An original oil painting of Mt. Hood, painted en plein air (meaning on site in open air) by contemporary impressionist Talya Johnson. The cool light of early morning, rises abreast a sleeping mountain. The sunshine captured mere moments before it will crashes upon the mountain peak and bathes the shadowed landscape in color.

      Behind the Scenes

      On day two of the Pacific NW Plein Air event, I had to wake up at 3am, in order to travel to Mt. Hood Winery in time to catch the sunrise. I know from experience that there are a few precious minutes (if conditions are clear) as the sun rises, that Mt. Hood turns a most glorious array of violets and pinks. My mission was to capture that color and light in oil paint. We arrived in the area around 5:20 and were set up by 5:40am (one of my quickest set ups EVER). I quickly sketched in all my shapes with oil and spike, to find the right composition. Then mixed the colors I guesstimated would emerge. The light show started around 6:20 am and was gone by (6:50am). From then on I had to be very careful to continue painting what I remembered rather than what was in front of me. It was so so so tempting to chase the light and change my colors to the more orange/yellow tone bathing the scene in front of me. I chose to stay true to my vision and mission, kept the oil painting loose and expressive, while adding interest and light through impasto (thick paint). This was my personal favorite of the four paintings that were exhibited at the Columbia Art Gallery for the Pacific Northwest Plein Air Event. ~Tali