Looking Downstream, Stonethwaite Beck

Oil on Board, 10x14 inches

  

This composition is a little unusual for me, in that the sun was almost behind me, thus lighting up everything in front of me, à la a picture postcard.  

However, I loved the orangey winter garb of the Larch trees on the far bank set against the blue sky and the dark blue of the distant mountainside.  And, of course, that gorgeous fast running water, tumbling down to the bend, enticing the viewer to wonder what's around the corner.  

Running water is another handbreak-turn for me - I'm so used to painting the reflections of the slow moving waters of the rivers at home, but this was an enjoyable change.  Painted with my usual 3 primaries, Cadmium Yellow Light, Permanent Rose and Cobalt Blue, if you look closely at the water (click to enlarge full screen and click again to hone in) you can see the subtle changes of colours - lots of blue in the middle section, reflecting the sky, with some slightly warmer tones on the left section, reflecting the hillside, and lots of warmer browns and greens in the near water, partly reflecting the Larches and partly revealing the stones on the riverbed.  Just a few flicks of white where the water breaks over the rocks in the water completes the painting.