Mustard and Mt. St. Helena • first stage • © 2013 Karen Lynn Ingalls
Mt. St. Helena rises above the Napa Valley floor just north of Calistoga. This field is part of an old farm called The Yellow Rose, on the upper edge of town. Every year the field is filled with mustard flowers, and the winter vines of the vineyard behind them looks vaguely purpley. I've painted it before, in a different, cooler, palette, and a very different size - 36"x48", in contrast to this small 8"x10" painting on panel.
Mustard and Mt. St. Helena • second stage • © 2013 Karen Lynn Ingalls
Mustard and Mt. St. Helena is another one of the small paintings on panels I'm working on for my show at Taste of Yountville in three weeks. I begin with the basic composition, then with blocking in the large areas of color.
Mustard and Mt. St. Helena • third stage • © 2013 Karen Lynn Ingalls
It's a process of painting successive layers of color, with each layer underneath influencing what's on top of it, and breaking down the large areas into smaller and smaller levels of detail with each layer.
One of the things I appreciate about painting with acrylics is that its quicker drying process makes layering so wonderful, and enables me to leave bits and pieces of the painting underneath, as I continue painting new layers.
Mustard and Mt. St. Helena • fourth stage • © 2013 Karen Lynn Ingalls
There's still more to come!
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