Red Cliffs Nostalgia IV Rowena Loop and Beyond

The remaining point of interest that I set out to include in my Red Cliffs painting is the Rowena Loop.  It is located at a circular lookout atop a ridge somewhere between the towns of Mosier and The Dalles, about an hour's drive east from the city of Portland.  The lookout is a perfect vista for the Gorge on one side, especially in the Spring time when flanked by a carpet of wild flowers; and a stretch of a couple of needle loops on the back side.  It is fun to watch cyclists laboring up in their low gears, and sports cars downshifting at the bends, looking to carve a perfect line up the hill; only to be foiled by the procession of cyclists.  Everybody who comes up this route eventually has to show their face at the Loop lookout, and people who have been watching the drama on top gets to place a face to the unsuspecting  motorists/cyclists.  

Just like the Vista House portion of the painting, I am painting the serpentine road and the circular vista much bigger than they really are.  Here however, drama is aided by the steroid-fed scale of the landmarks.

Brush wash is used to create the faint suggestion of mountain range of beyond, to help frame the enclosure of the river gorge.  The ample void spaces help to create separation, thus depth and also helps to eschew too much details about the distant landscape.  It gives the painting breathing room, as we might say.

A few nonchalant dots with the brush wash on the top side of the brushstrokes give the impression of vegetation growing; without having to give details.

With my 4 main areas of interest all painted in, here is a first look at the flesh and sinew of my Nostalgia piece, being built on the skeleton of the Columbia River Gorge: