Mountains and Dreams

This is a small piece (finished painting 10x15cm) for a colleague-friend, who I have now known for a couple of years but who only recently asked for a painting. Since I used his expertise to find out interesting information about my mitochondrial DNA at no cost, I figured it’s a fair trade.

Now before anyone comments on the fact that this scene is astronomically impossible, I would like to say that this scene is astronomically impossible. The mountain is a real mountain, but in real life its orientation is such that the constellation Orion would probably not appear above it at that angle. I think the same about the full moon.

The main reason for drawing a scientifically inaccurate scene, however, is because the original sketch idea is based on Mount St Helens, where this astronomical alignment is perfectly possible.  At least, possible enough for my artistic license (except for the full moon again, I think – not both together like that). But since Friend is from some other mountains, it would not do, so I had to substitute in something from the Alps.

First, a teaser – a by-product of the process, the process below the fold.

©rq, all rights reserved

 

[Read more…]

Z is for Zaffre

From Nightjar,

Z is for Zaffre

Zaffre.

A deep blue pigment obtained from cobalt ore. I thought these Lithodora prostrata flowers were close enough.

 

Link to previous alphabet post

♦♦♦

It’s obvious that Nightjar put a lot of time and thought into this project and I thank her so much for sharing it with all of us. The series has been full of surprises and gorgeous photography and along the way I learned a few new colors and fell in love with a jet black cat, who is my final choice for favourite – B is for Black Mia with the soft green eyes.

 

T is for Teal

From Nightjar,

T is for Teal ©Nightjar, all rights reserved

Teal.

I’ve noticed that some of my succulent plants display a teal hue that almost glows under certain light conditions. I tried to capture that here, although this one required a bit of post-production to bring it closer to what I had in mind. I still liked the result.

 

Link to previous alphabet post