Drawing Study: Tree by the Pond

While working on some concepts for my next painting, I was intrigued by a picture of a tree that I took when I was at Lake Memphremagog, Vermont. There was this beautiful pond and had a majestic tree off to the side. Plus, as a change, I decided that I should try a landscape painting that did not add any abstract shapes. Rather, I'm going to use colors to differentiate it from the normal landscape painting.

So, as a first step and to continue my drawing practice, the first thing that I always do is a pen/ink value study of what I'm going to paint. This helps me organize my thoughts and, more importantly, determine what is going to be in the painting and what will be left out.

Although I love using lots of bright colors and intermingle them, the basis of my paintings is always the abstract shapes and their values. The rule that I always follow is: If the drawing looks good and I get the values right (so that the viewer can recognize what is going on), then the painting should look fine.