How to Design a Mountain Landscape Part 1: Composition and Planning

I grew up spending time here in there in Index, Washington. Just North of Seattle, it is home to lush forest, flowing rivers, and breathtaking vistas. I was asked if I could do a painting of the forest and mountains. I liked the atmosphere and colors of the picture but I wanted to add the river.

This was the first picture referenced taken by my dad. I enjoyed the atmosphere. The sky is grey but there is sunshine in certain areas of the picture. The clouds interact with the mountains. The trees indicate that this is during the fall months bringing in orange and brown tones. 

This next one also taken by him is from the river. The river and mountains are both major elements of Index and I wanted to depict both in the painting. the rocks disappearing into the river can add a interesting foreground. The deciduous trees along the river in hills break up the evergreens.

This painting of Milford Sound in New Zealand by Andrew Tischler was my biggest piece of inspiration for my painting of Index. The mountains have a towering presence from the bottom of the river. He implants interesting foreground elements including those smooth river rocks that are also in Index. The mountain to the left of the center is the focal point.

This painting that has been in our house as long as I can remember depicts Mt. Index. Like the painting I want to create, the view is from the river. It acts as a good reference for my first pass but doesn't have any of the detail I want to add to mine.

I began by sketching some ideas for the painting. They combine bits and pieces from each of the reference photos like a collage. I decided to go with the sketch on the right because I wanted to show as much of the landscape as I could. I want to capture the verticality of the mountains like the sketch on the left.

The first step is sketching the painting out with a single color.

I start filling the painting in working back to front.

The whole painting is filled in now but a lot of the burnt sienna is still showing. I need to cover this up.

I like how the clouds move left to right. They begin high up and sweep down on Mt. Index and roll into the hills.

The painting really begins to emerge here. Refinements to every section bring the painting one step closer to being finished.

This image is a little darker. You can see where I added the snowfalls to the mountains and darken certain areas of the foreground trees so the highlights will stand out on top.

Here highlights are added to the trees and the rocks.

At this point I feel the painting is done. I enjoy the loose brushwork and implied detail in the painting. In part 2 of designing a Mountain Landscape, I rework major elements of the composition and add fine detail into the painting. All the thought I'm putting into this 20 x 24 painting is so I can know exactly what to do when I start work on the 30 x 40 canvas.