04-02-2011, 10:26 PM
Again, I want to thank everyone for the compliments on the painting and the commentary on the water.
Now, if I had it to do over, I would probably take Reinhard's comments and vary the color of the water here and there just a bit. That would most likely help camoflage the line between the horizontal water and the vertical water.
Charlie B, thanks for the color testing. I am surprised how much lighter the vertical water needs to be as compared to the horizontal water. I am to the point where the water color needs to be about 60% of the original green, and about 40% white. That is a huge difference, and is of course, because of the light reflecting off the horizontal water making it much lighter than it really is. I am going to give a wash a try first though.
biL, you may be right on blending the vertical color onto the horizontal. I am noticing a darker reflection on the horizontal water from the vertical water. But if I continue lightening the vertical, it may negate the dark reflection.
Kevin, your comments are very much appreciated. In person, it looks better than the photo. The camera focused on the bridge and left the background a tad blurry. Even though conventional wisdom says to do the backdrop without detail so it isn't a distraction, I am thinking that the very low horizon lends itself to more detail, simply because it doesn't overwhelm the layout as a higher horizon could.
Again, you guys have helped me tremendously, and I'm feeling really good about the scene right now.
Now, if I had it to do over, I would probably take Reinhard's comments and vary the color of the water here and there just a bit. That would most likely help camoflage the line between the horizontal water and the vertical water.
Charlie B, thanks for the color testing. I am surprised how much lighter the vertical water needs to be as compared to the horizontal water. I am to the point where the water color needs to be about 60% of the original green, and about 40% white. That is a huge difference, and is of course, because of the light reflecting off the horizontal water making it much lighter than it really is. I am going to give a wash a try first though.
biL, you may be right on blending the vertical color onto the horizontal. I am noticing a darker reflection on the horizontal water from the vertical water. But if I continue lightening the vertical, it may negate the dark reflection.
Kevin, your comments are very much appreciated. In person, it looks better than the photo. The camera focused on the bridge and left the background a tad blurry. Even though conventional wisdom says to do the backdrop without detail so it isn't a distraction, I am thinking that the very low horizon lends itself to more detail, simply because it doesn't overwhelm the layout as a higher horizon could.
Again, you guys have helped me tremendously, and I'm feeling really good about the scene right now.