The Star on Each Plane

Sometimes it's a good idea to de-emphasize the foreground or background by painting wet-into-wet to keep the edges soft.  But in some landscapes, I like to look past something interesting in the foreground to something interesting in the mid-ground and the far distance.

In this painting, I looked through the trees at a serene lake scene.  In the foreground I placed a focal point of a birch tree on the left.  Knowing that a flat lake would hold little interest, I added some sailboats in the middle ground.  And finally, a low hanging cloud and its cast shadow on the distant mountains provided a point of interest even farther back.

In this way I supply a pathway through the scene. 

Watch this space for a workshop announcement soon!