Personal Art Blog

Sharing the lessons I teach at the Artist Guild and the personal discoveries in my art.

Sunday, October 18, 2015

Sunrise On The Firehold River - Yellowstone



Sunrise On The Firehole River
Yellowstone.
6x6in oil on canvas panel $130. SOLD

Artist Note

Steam rising up by the river
at sunrise was a jaw dropping
sight that has stayed with me.

I had to work out
how to do the steam
first because I had not
painted it other than
from one or two
 geysers before.
The palette knife was handy
for "mushing" to achieve
the softness.
Next it was just a matter of 
adding the colors of sunrise.

I am very happy with 
the way this one turned out.
especially the
colors in the steam

One of the highlights of my 
visit was 
seeing a room full of 
Thomas Moran paintings
Below are the notes 
from my sketchbook


 I noticed the
absence of GREEN in his work!
Here is a link to the collection.

37 comments:

  1. Beautifully painted. Your choice of warms and cools just sings. Wish I was there.

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    1. Thanks, Helen. I would love to go back.
      You must have enjoyed sitting in the park painting the fall leaves. It shines on through in your painting.

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  2. What fortuitous timing that you were there to see the sunrise and the mist. Indeed, your approach to painting the mist is very effective, and the colors in it add a magical element to the scene. I always feel like I've been given a gift when I see something like that firsthand. Lucky me to see it through your eyes.

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    1. We saw the sunrise every morning because we didn't want to miss a second of being in such a glorious and fascinating place.
      I treasure your beautiful comment, Carol. Thank you so much.

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  3. This and your excellent falls in the last two posts really bring back Yellowstone to me. The dark woods, and thick white foam really bring attention to the rush of water. How wonderful!

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    1. I am not surprised that you have been to Yellowstone, Mary. You appear to be a real nature lover. No one paints the fisherman and water as well you do.
      Thanks for the encouraging comment.
      It was good to see a post on your blog today. Love the sunflowers - they really glow.

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  4. Spectacular painting of a stunning scene. I love it.

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    1. Hi Christiane. Pleased to know you like it, thank you.
      You use the word stunning and I think that matches my response to the zebra you posted. WOW! The gold leaf background must make the strong stripes of colors really pop.

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  5. A STUNNER!
    Thanks for sharing about the artist, too!
    I will look him up.
    Have a good week, Julie = )

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    Replies
    1. Thanks Sue. Good as always to read your comment.
      Thomas Moran was born near where I was in England and became a famous 19th century American painter. He belonged to the Hudson River School. A Romantic period in landscape work. The palette of colors on your new painting would be admired by him very much. Me too!

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  6. Julie, I love all your waterfall paintings of late but I think this is my favourite so far! So much action and ambience, and you have "mushed" to great effect!
    Also, I was blown away by the Koi that you painted in alcohol inks half a dozen posts back. So vibrant and eye popping! I hope you will further explore that medium. As always, a visit to your blog is super inspiring!

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    1. The water theme has been a good one to get my palette knife going. Glad you liked the a ink painting of the Koi. I worked again with the alcohol inks this weekend. The trick is finding out how to make them fit in with my type of vision and not so much in the total abstract which they are well suited for.
      I really enjoyed seeing the lovely portrait of your daughter. I especially liked how you surrounded her with flowers.

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  7. You did a beautiful job, especially creating depth within the steam. I enjoyed the link, I missed it of course when we visited. It is one of my favorite places in the world. I remember seeing this river but unfortunately not at sunrise. I might need to go back!

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    1. The steam was what was amazing at that early hour. The cool colors in the shadows next to the warm light... be still my heart!.
      As a watercolorist you would have found the sketches interesting because they obviously were done for working on oil paintings. He established light and dark patterns on the buff paper. It is how he filled the empty spots in when he did a finished oil painting which amazes me I have seen two oils from the sketches I saw and his memory must have remembered an amazing amount. He did stay true to the light source in his sketches.
      Thanks for the lovely complement, Celia.

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  8. What a great painting! The light and steam are perfect! I can hear birds chirping and the sound of the water running!

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    1. Hi Kaethe - Nice complement coming from some as great with value and color as you. I was pleased with the way the steam turned out.
      Who can not be awed at Yellowstone? The grand prismatic still is so clear in my mind.
      Looking forward to your next painting.

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  9. Really a beautiful piece, Julie. Amazing that you were able to capture the steam so well. Gorgeous colors.

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    1. Thank you Jean. I saw your painting for the University Art Building fund raiser.
      Love it... made me feel awed at your skill and creativity.

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  10. This is indeed jaw dropping, the mist coming up is awesome and you said it and I repeat it ( LOL ), the colors in the stream are so beautiful , so perfect and idyllic !

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    1. Thanks, dear Jane. Mutual admiration going on here. Your new post showing the two figures under the umbrella is fabulous!

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  11. Perfect light on the water from the sky!! Beautiful work!

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  12. Hi Hilda -we both have early morning like. Yours is on "sails" and mine on steam!
    Looking forward to your next painting.

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  13. Julie this is awesome. You certainly captured the rising steam and the colors in the water are so beautiful. Your landscapes are always so spiritual friend. Hope you are having a super week.

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    1. Hi Debbie - one can't be in Yellowstone without being aware of God's amazing presence..Thanks for liking this one.
      I just felt so happy looking at your scarecrow. Very relaxed indeed!

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  14. This is absolutely stunning, Julie. Gosh, I admire the verve and energy you inject into your paintings. The hot sky colors reflecting in the river, then the cool mauves and blues in the water as it drops down, as well as in the mist, are wonderful. Those great contrasts make it so dynamic. Thanks to you, I checked out Thomas Moran, and I think my favorite of his is the exquisitely subtle "In the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone." I'm partial to English painters, being Yorkshire-born myself, and think the Hudson River school of artist created magical works.

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    1. What fun...you are a Yorkshire lass and I am a Lancashire lass! No War of the Roses between us!
      Neat to know that we have British roots. I have found that my early years being exposed to the Romantic school of Pre-Raphaelite work in Manchester Galleries definitely formed my love of beauty. h
      Happy you looked into Moran's work. I liked that painting a lot too.
      Did you know Thomas Moran was from Bolton - near Manchester?
      After all that I offer a true complement on your figurative piece - great - but the hands knocked my socks off.

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  15. A great series so far! You really can't go wrong with Yosemite as your inspiration. And you are right-the mushing for the mists works very well!

    I checked Wikipedia to be sure-I just read a book about the Mormon trail and Thomas Moran did some etchings to chronicle some of the locations on the trail. He really was an incomparable recorder of the western landscape wasn't he? Such a strong history too-Turner as his inspiration. Imagine that!

    Great link too so thank you!

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    1. You are right, Libby. He painted landscapes where the masses of people had never seen and you can tell he glorified them.
      He was a success in his lifetime.As I mentioned to Helene above - he was born not far from where I was. Nost likely why he loved the West.

      You passed on some valuable self critiquing hints on your blog explaining how you used them. A real gift to artists.

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  16. I don't know anyone who can pack more into such a small painting. Love the steam, the scene and the beautiful colors.

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  17. LOL - there are lots of us packing it into small spaces, Sharon. This is much different than the miniatures of the past. I only "suggest" detail.
    Love seeing the painting birthday party you did. . What fun. I watched the video and liked the paintings.
    .

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  18. 'Sunrise On The Firehold River - Yellowstone' ... I can see why this painting sold. The tints of purple, blue, green while unexpected - unify the red-orange of the sky with the tinted yellow orange of the rushing waters. Kudos. Winslow Homer were he alive would congratulate you on your use of an unexpected bolts of color.

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  19. You sound like a very professional artist, Elizabeth. Thank you for such a positive critique. Homer is a wonderful complement.
    I clicked on your name and ended up on a gallery website with no "comment screen" available, but it did look fascinating and informative so I am going to take the time to read over everything.

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  20. This is simply stunning. It is my new favorite of yours. Just love the colors and the way you have applied them

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  21. Julie, you do this so well. The colours just say fire and sunrise. You really succeeded with the steam too. I'm glad you're happy with this painting because it's fab! Thank you for the link to Thomas Moran - really interesting colour scheme.
    Sharon

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  22. I love the mood that you have captured so beautifully, Julie.

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Cheers,
Julie