Mt. Adams Painting Re-worked

Erik Koeppel, "Mt. Adams" (Re-worked) 32 x 48 inches Oil on Canvas

I like to let my paintings rest in my studio a while before accepting them as finished because I find that little changes near the end of a painting can make a big difference.

After                                                                            Before

In addition to adding more blue to the picture as a whole, to bring out the warm atmosphere of the light, I also made a structural change to emphasize space in the painting. I had studied the ridge-line thoroughly, and new from my drawings the way that the mountains were layered in space.

Mt. Jefferson                           Mt. Adams                               Mt. Madison

Before re-working I had chosen to emphasize the ridge-line over the layering of the mountains to enhance the light effect, but it occurred to me last week that the mountains looked too flat. So I added a lot of atmosphere to Mt. Jefferson (left of Adams) setting it back, and added atmosphere to Mt Adams setting it behind Mt. Madison. This opened up a nice conduit in the center of the picture that I drew further attention to by sharpening the contour of Madison against the sky (sharpening one thing to make another look softer).

After                                                                Before

I feel that taken at a distance the composition has more power as it is now: opened in the center with a nice volume of light-filled space. I don't know if the painting is fully finished, but it's getting there. In my opinion, these little things can add a lot of depth of feeling. Design is important.

Thank you for reading.