In the last week I have taken another angle on the red hills near De Rust in the Klein Karoo. I am trying to paint every day now and in this painting I attempted to work with different colours, texture and shadows to accentuate the redness of the hills. The real painting is a little more lively that the photo, but it does capture the essence of the painting.
From De Rust to around Calitzdorp in the Klein (Little) Karoo one finds a range of reddish hills. Depending on the time of day and the lighting conditions these hills can appear yellow (in the morning), light pink (in the middle of the day) and orange changing to red and purple (in the late afternoon). The features of these hills and the variations of colour and shadows have always captivated my imagination. With my new found focus on oil paint I have decided to try to capture the essence of the Red Heads (Rooikoppe) of the Klein Karoo on canvas.
Below is my second attempt. My first attempt was not exactly what I intended to achieve. I am quite satisfied with this painting as contains a number of technical aspects that I have previously not managed to master. I could definitely improve on it since that composition is that great, but it does bring a feeling of satisfaction and my post-painting-completion coffee tasted really good as I walked through my painting.
Francois' Art Blog 