The Falls. Painting #87

Hello friends! I’m back again! Trying to get back into being more consistent. This new year has been interesting to say the least. The Falls is painting #87 and is named after the waterfall that leads to this little area.

This painting takes you to a small clearing off of a hiking trail next to a rushing river. Here, the water calms a bit and while taking in the scenery or throwing in a fishing line, a moose emerges from the forest to get a drink of water.

Like a few of my other paintings, the inspiration for this one comes from Maine. While visiting there last May, I took a little hike to a place called Mariaville Falls. The trail goes along the Union River. Along the trail there are some points where you can visit the river bank and throw in a fishing line. I did stop at a few of those points to throw in a line. I had some pretty good luck catching small mouth bass there. I also took some photos along the way too. This painting is inspired by one of those photos. I did not see a moose however! Oddly enough, I’ve never seen a moose in real life.

I started working on this painting back in July of 2019. A little ways through it and I just wasn’t feeling it so I ditched it. I got about this far before I ditched it. That same night, since I was streaming, I had to quickly switch to something else. That night I painted Bonita Bay 2. Fast forward to November. I just finished Autumn Covered Bridge which was a multi-day painting. I was feeling inspired when I came across this unfinished painting. I was adding a few details to the landscape and adding highlights to finish it off but something was missing. There was a large empty area. I thought “why not add some wildlife like you’ve always wanted to do.” That’s when I decided to try to add a moose. As you’ve seen, landscapes are my wheelhouse. Additional things like wildlife and man made structures don’t typically make an appearance in my paintings. Using a reference picture of a moose, I just went for it! Sometimes you just gotta jump in the deep end to learn to swim. That’s what I did with the moose.

Now, if you’ve painted with Bob Ross before, his style requires a lot of paint and some rather large brushes. For the moose, I picked up some small brushes that I was using on my mini paintings. I picked up a pack of angular brushes. It came with various size brushes that came in handy for coloring and shading. I also used linseed oil to help the paint flow better. I wish I could offer you some pro tips on how to paint a moose but I’m not exactly a pro. Just follow the basic principles of art. Start with the dark and work your way lighter. Take your time. Wait for layers to dry a little bit as well. Sometimes it just feels good to paint and things work.

The finished painting ended up as a gift to my step dad. I put it in a rustic looking wood frame. It was the perfect frame for this painting as well. It’s gonna look amazing in his little shack out in the woods of Maine.

Thanks for reading! Get brave in your next painting! Let me know how you stepped out of your comfort zone in art. Happy painting!