Darby Creek 1

Artist's Gallery

Darby Creek from Bridge at Prairie Oaks

On the long walks my family used to take at our local park, this spot was always a shady place to slow down and rest after the hot, sunny trek through dull prairie grass. That feeling inspired me to begin a painting from this photograph I took there, looking down the Darby Creek. It seemed like a pleasing composition, the evening sun giving the trees a sharp glow behind the railings, but I decided to pep up the color a bit. So...here goes!

Blocking In

This is called the underpainting: Using basic darks and lights to define the basic shapes and locations of things. I did that excellently on the bank of trees, and I think the painting owes a lot of its success to it. The colors at this point aren’t very accurate, but the relative values are. And don't worry, the bridge isn't going to be blue! I put the painter's tape on to keep from painting on the railing on the initial background stages. It worked very well—gave the bridge sharp, clean edges.