Cardrona Valley

I have been preparing to paint this scene over a period of nearly 4 years, by doing a series of "colour sketches" and often returning to view the original photo. There is something about this photo that draws me, and I am about to start painting it on a 910mm x 610mm canvas board.

	The photograph on which the following paintings were based. Comparisons between the paintings and the photo will illustrate somewhat which elements – composition, colour, etc were important to me in expressing the aspects that convey the feeling I have for the subject. Although I took this photo in 2002, I still remember the moment quite vividly.
Sketch 1 Sketch 3	Sketch 2	These were my early deliberately rough "colour sketches" that I did to explore the subject. As you can see, I have tried different colours, and more recently used colours that are not actually in the photograph, but still convey the scene, whilst giving more of what I interpret to be my feeling for the place. It will be interesting to see how the final version takes shape!
	To begin the "final" work, I decided to print a black-and-white version of the photo, scaled so that 3 cm on the print exactly matches 4 inches on the canvas-board. I then marked out 3 cm squares on the print, as shown.
	I similarly ruled the canvas-board in 4 inch squares, and sketched in the major shapes ready for under-painting. I expect to return to this grid from time to time if I feel the need to establish the position of significant forms.
	I have completely obscured the whiteness of the canvas with an under-painting, using a thin coating of paint. Many of the original pencil lines can still be seen. This sets a mid-tone value from which to add vivid colour and texture to provide form and feeling.