Painting Mt Pluto in Paradise, New Zealand - Art and Photography

Hello Steemers

Another one of my outdoor painting adventures, this was a couple of weeks ago where I went to the Glenorchy area of New Zealand at the top of Lake Wakatipu.

This painting location is inaccessible with a normal car so an off road vehicle was required, the trip was worth it because the mountain views were amazing and there was so much to paint.

I painted with some other plein air painters, we found a great location to paint with a mountain stream, native trees and literally a wall of high mountains in front of us.

This is my finished painting.

Mt Pluto, New Zealand, 8" x 10", oil on canvas panel, painted outdoors 'en plein air'.

This is the view I decided to paint.

I set up my pochade box easel, what an amazing view to paint!

I am painting on a small 8" x 10" canvas panel, which I prepared earlier with a layer of burnt umber which add vibrancy to my painting.

I start by painting the sky and then as quickly as I can I get my dark tones and shadows established. I've made Mt Pluto the focal point of the painting, with the stream leading towards it.

After getting in my dark tones I work on the foliage. I use a very desaturated green for the distant mountains to make it look far away. 

I increase the saturation of my greens as I paint the mid and foreground trees and grass which make it appear closer to the viewer.

I paint the snow on top of the mountains and work on the river in the foreground.

I finish the painting by adding highlights to the foliage and the water.

My finished painting.

Me in my plein air painters hat!

Some of the other plein air painters.

The view of Mt Pluto.

I hope you enjoyed my blog post.

Check out my website for more of my art: samuelearp.com

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