The reminder I jotted for myself was simple; a dramatic fore/aft gradient and a transition from warm to cold as the distance mounts.
Again I used the sized Xuan, keying on its tolerance to color moving and building.
After the color had dried, the painting looked very soupy. I must confess the thought of painting a dreamy landscape did cross my mind. Perhaps not as featureless as my Glimpse painting, but nonetheless fluid. But the rolling hills were too representational; I could not escape the realism. The painting was begging for better definition.
Ahh, the foreground is better defined. I also rearranged the contour lines a little. They look less haphazard now.
I liked the way my color was bleeding from the brushstroke and I wanted to preserve those little tendrils before they are absorbed into the background. They resemble tree trunks poking out in the haze.
My hair blow-dryer came to the rescue.
The sized Xuan had a pinkish tint to it, especially against this blue theme. My hills in the background could use a little toning down also. I debated hard about using titanium white for this purpose.
I was taught by my first teachers to never use titanium white in landscape paintings. Streams and rivers and clouds and mist are just virgin real estate on the paper. I should never consider titanium white as a color. The only exceptions were when mixing with other color to paint flower petals for example; especially the two-toned ones. How dare I entertain such evil thoughts; first by using a hair blow-dryer, and now using white to mask colors?
I am bastardizing the painting.
Time to say my Rosary and beg for forgiveness. I had only good intentions. I just wanted to experiment.
Now I shall be at peace with myself and see if I should commit the next cardinal sin of painting a flock of geese over this landscape.
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