Mustard and Mt. St. Helena in process

2/26/2013

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 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.

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.

There's still more to come!

3 Comments

Daryl Jonsec link

12/8/2024 07:10:24 pm

Thank you for sharing the behind-the-scenes look at Mustard and Mt. St. Helena. It’s fascinating to read about your creative process and the inspiration behind the piece. I love how you incorporate both the natural landscape and personal elements into your work. The connection between the mustard and the mountain feels so rich with symbolism.

I’m excited to see the finished piece and look forward to reading more about your artistic journey.

Karen Lynn Ingalls

12/9/2024 11:47:09 am

Thank you so much, Daryl! I'm glad you enjoy the journey… I love seeing the process, each artist takes as they create their work, and I enjoyed doing that in my blog.

I haven't kept the blog current (my apologies), as you probably noticed. But I also noticed that, while I shared the progress on this in the next blog, I didn't share the results. I'll post the link to the final results in a post below, and here's the link to the second part of the process:

https://www.karenlynningalls.com/blog/mustard-and-mt-st-helena-in-process-ii

Karen Lynn Ingalls

12/9/2024 11:56:58 am

Ahhh... I DID indeed write about the final stages of the process of this painting, but it took a few months before that process was completed! I remember many variations it went through, but I'd forgotten how drawn out the process was.

Many, perhaps most, of my paintings are drawn out like that (pun intended), though, as they lead me to an understanding of where they want to go. I see you found that article — but I'll add the link here in case someone else comes along and wonders about it. 😊

https://www.karenlynningalls.com/blog/mustard-and-mt-st-helena

Mustard and Mt. St. Helena in process

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Karen Lynn Ingalls

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