This was started as a plein air, finished in the studio. What I most wanted to capture was the atmospheric perspective, the contrast between the first step and the scenery beyond the last. What I found most challenging were the stairs; at first, I tried just giving the general appearance of the stairs, not wanting to get lost in the detail or giving up my focus on atmospheric perspective. After a few failed attempts, I realized that I really did have to count the number of stairs, and account for them in the painting.
I do love these stairs; they are in the narrow strip of land between the shoreline of Lake Superior and Highway 61, in Cascade River State Park.
This was started as a plein air, finished in the studio. What I most wanted to capture was the atmospheric perspective, the contrast between the first step and the scenery beyond the last. What I found most challenging were the stairs; at first, I tried just giving the general appearance of the stairs, not wanting to get lost in the detail or giving up my focus on atmospheric perspective. After a few failed attempts, I realized that I really did have to count the number of stairs, and account for them in the painting.
I do love these stairs; they are in the narrow strip of land between the shoreline of Lake Superior and Highway 61, in Cascade River State Park.