My Frozen Waterfall Painting

My Frozen Waterfall Painting 
Susie Caron
(c) 4/6/17
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I Love birthdays. My grown up kids all had birthdays recently and I gave each one an original 12 x 16 inch acrylic painting on canvas.  In this one I learned a new 'how to' and something about myself.

Last December my son and his wife came upon a frozen waterfall while snowshoeing. They loved the scene and took a photo of it to show me. I believe they experienced it as much more breathtaking than the photo illustrates. However, I could tell they loved their spot and I love them, so I decided to see what I could do for them in a painting. Here is their photo. 

Photo by Ned & Jackie Caron

In preparing to paint, I covered the 12 x 16 inch canvas with black Gesso. This ensured the waterfall had a good dark back drop. Then I used a scrunched up paper towel to paint the sun, sky and land mass. I indicated the trees with the back of my fingernails, by dragging them upward.  Later I added more detail.

I was surprised to find the waterfall presented a dilemma. As you can see in the photo the waterfall looks uneven at the top. When I attempted to paint it this way, it didn't 'make sense'. (God has much more liberty for creation than I do). As I worked, I discovered that I prefer my paintings to 'make sense', at least, to me. So I reconfigured the waterfall to appear more level at the top. Below is the result.                    ​What do you think?

Winter Icing SC (c) 2017

If you are wondering why the water and ice are not just white, it's partly because water and ice take on the colors of their surroundings. It's also just fun to take artistic license and put blues, pinks, greens and even yellow in the ice and water.

I titled this one "Winter Icing" for a few reasons. The kids appeared visibly excited to share a photo of what they'd discovered on their snow shoeing adventure with me. I felt happy to create this painting to capture their moment in time, the feelings they'd expressed, and my love for them too. So, I hoped my painting would be like 'the icing on the cake.'  It seemed right for all of us. 

Tell me what you think about this in the comments below.  Do you paint? What are you discovering? 

Twee' Means You & Me
​Painting Feelings

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