Feature Faux - Southwest Mountain Mural

A day late but finished up the board last night and I am in love with this so I figured why not just put it up on Saturday instead.  Hey, its early enough right?  It almost still qualifies as Friday :-)

To start I called on my favorite Photographer Judi FitzPatrick Studio who I knew would have a wonderful photo that I could use as my inspiration. She scanned in her picture and emailed it to me. Next I flipped it horizontal in Photoshop and printed it out on a plain piece of scrap paper so I could reference the lines and areas of light or dark.

Isn't this photo fantastic?  She captures an old time feel with this one, super talented artist.  Her work is well worth having hanging in your home!  Check her link above to find out how and where to purchase everything from gorgeous greeting cards to large fine art photos.

Back to the board...

I started out on this board the same as my Under the Sea mural but reversed the blended glaze to mimic sky with the darker glaze at the top and lightened as I went down.

Then I put in the clouds, the big puffy ones at the top of the board, the thin ones I finished after getting the mountains in place.  Using colored pencils I lightly drew some reference lines for where I wanted my mountains to be placed and then I pulled out a whole bunch of my brand new acrylic paints and got mixing, brushing and shading.

With the mountain's placement complete, the shading from sun angle to show highs and lows came next.  Then using those areas as a guide I added in the desert brush / bushes and saguaro cactus randomly until it felt right.  A little highlight and depth, plus shadow spots on those areas, and all that was left to do was sign my artwork!

My mom has suggested I start listing my pieces for sale in my Etsy Shop as they shouldn't go to waste just sitting in my portfolio case.  I think she may be right but I keep thinking I'd love to get something like this on canvas instead of the plastic mighty boards, then maybe even make prints as well to keep the cost a little lower.  Any thoughts?

I'd love to discuss painting a larger scale mural in this or other styles in your home or business.  Check out my About tab for contact information and get in touch today so we can work together to create the perfect picture, faux finish or artwork for you!