Sunday, September 11, 2011

Early Morning at Caprock


Early Morning at Caprock, originally uploaded by Mark Nesmith.

The heat at Caprock Canyon in the summer was brutal, but early in the mornings it was actually quite nice. We'd wake every morning to our tent shaking in a huge breeze. With the light just starting to creep in at the horizon there's lots of wonderful contrasts in the colors, deep oranges and reds in the cliff faces and cool greens and blues in the foliage. I bought a few pre-stretched canvases in several different sizes and have been looking for the right view for this 12" x 24" canvas. I think this almost panoramic view of the canyon fits perfectly!

I've been looking at Vermeer alot lately and love his use of a shadowy foreground set against a brightly lit wall from the window. I've tried a similar idea here with the foreground using cooler and darker colors set against the warm, brightly lit hills in the distance.

2 comments:

  1. Great color and composition. Nice work.

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  2. Love this Mark, you definitely captured the canyons feel and grandeur.

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