As I Mentioned In The Last Post...

...I use the razor to cut in details and shapes. Here, I am making space for clouds in the pretty gradient created by a low sun. 

I paint in the clouds, smoothing and blending them into the sky already painted.

Then once they have been painted in, I cut in the singular blades of grass. This way, when the grass is later painted in, the surface stays smooth and pictorially unified. 

In other words, it is one picture plane and not looking like they are pasted on top of what is painted behind them, in this case the sky.

I Forgot To Post...

...my final painting from the elements show. 

To capture the detail and not drag dark colors into the snow, I used my usual technique of painting and scraping away paint to create channels for the fence to fill. 

This way, the detail stays crisp, the snow stays clean, and the entire surface stays optically smooth. Hanging on the wall, I am very proud of how they turned out!

As This Painting...

...is about air, I used a glaze layer to wrap the mountain (right hand side valley) in the soft gauze of clouds.

The slightly blurry image above is the before, while this is the after:

As The Aspen Tree...

...gets painted, I am one step closer to completing this painting.

Slowly...

...creating a mountain, all to show off the air over and around it.

A Couple Of Detail Shots...

...from the "Air" painting for the upcoming group show.

And It Is...

...done! Plus a few detail shots so you can see some of the little things that make this piece so interesting.

There Are Only Six Words...

...that make me happier than having Megan tell me to rehang my work, take over a new wall, space it out, and make it look pretty. They are the ensuing thought, "now break out the laser level!" If only the photo could capture how pretty and clean it is...

So As It Turns Out...

...painting live trees is far more rewarding than painting burnt remnants of trees.

This Is How...

...I did it. One section at a time, step by step. First I painted in the background of snow. 

Then, using a straight razor, I cut out the shapes of the unburnt pines. 

Next, I painted them in and smoothed them over, gently blending the edges into the white to soften their outline. 

Then I did the same thing for the burnt spires of pine trunks before finally moving onto the next section. 

Unbelievably, this process took just under four hours for a section just over a square inch.