Cougar Peak #365

4.75" x 6.75" Acrylic on Illustration Board

It is done.....WOW! Last year at this time I was sitting in the studio contemplating on how I should celebrate the new year......and it evolved into this crazy idea of painting Cougar Peak everyday for one year. Coming from a background in animation, I decided to paint the exact same scene, with the idea being that at the end of the year I could animate it all together and watch the seasons come and go in a cool little movie...which will be coming soon.

This project has been an immense joy, and an experience that I shall ever remember. Also it has been a challenge, so much that at times I wasn't sure I had it in me to endure until the end.....but for those of you who have followed along on the journey, your comments and support have made it possible and all the more worth while. Thank you!

And as before here is the month in review, as well as the year in review.

Cougar Peak #364

4.75" x 6.75" Acrylic on Illustration Board

Snow...It won't be long before this land is filled with snow. Again today snow covered the mountain in a blanket of cold white chill. For this painting I first started out by spraying my board with water, and then painting directly upon that. Once I had some shapes blocked in how I wanted....I then misted it again with the spray bottle. Finally coming back in with my brush, I lightly went over the areas I sprayed, pulling off the paint, leaving a nice "snowflake" texture.

Tomorrow will be the BIG one. The final image of this long project.....hard to imagine that it will be coming to an end, but to an end it will come. Until tomorrow.

Cougar Peak #363

4.75" x 6.75" Acrylic on Paper

Today I was once again greeted by the mountain, and a fresh blanket of white snow that had covered the valley. For this painting I did an initial wash of a medium cool gray to cover up the white of the board......from there I built up my snow with my lighter values, and then went the other way darkening my values to bring out individual trees etc, shadows, etc.....

Cougar Peak #362

4.75" 6.75" Acrylic on Paper

A flurry of white fell from the sky while I was doing this painting, creating this great sense of atmosphere. For this painting I had to start out with a much lighter value when painting the mountain, since looking through all of that snow really lightens things up. I then came back in over the top with my snow flakes, as well as the details/highlights.

Cougar Peak #361

4.75" x 6.75" Acrylic on Paper

Once again we find the mountain held in the grip of icy winter. The cloud level was just low enough to engulf the top of the mountain, as the bottom was bare to reveal it's cold icy body. For this painting I started out by working up a quick sketch with a liner brush. I then came back in with a larger flat blocking in some of my major shapes, and then going back to the liner, to bring in details, highlights, etc......

Cougar Peak #360

4.75" x 6.75" Acrylic on Paper

This morning I was once again greeted by a layer of fresh snow as it covered the mountainside like a blanket of white wool. I first started out by working up a quick sketch with my paints, blocking in my shapes until I had them just how I liked them. After that was completed, I started to lay in some of my clouds, as well as building up some of the details. Finally I came back in and added highlights, snow, barn, tree, etc....

Cougar Peak #359

4.75" x 6.75" Acrylic on Paper

Merry Christmas to all! The mountain had a nice color palette this morning of dark blues and bits of ocher from the valley floor. The snowfall that we received yesterday receeded a bit allowing part of the dead grass of the field to show through.....so it was nice having all that blue set against the that warmer hue.

Cougar Peak #358

4.75" x 6.75" Acrylic on Paper

Flakes of fluffy white were falling and twirling on their long decent to the valley floor this morning as I tackled the mountain once again. There is something wonderfully peaceful about falling snow. Always a nice gift to get such beauty on Christmas Eve.

Cougar Peak #357

4.75" x 6.75" Acrylic on Paper

Winter attacks today with a furry of fresh snow, and cold temperatures. I love the blues and grays that snow brings, and for this painting I worked a bit trying to capture some of the many different hues of blue that accompany such winter weather.....as well as a little bit of that icy chill.

Cougar Peak #356

4.75" x 6.75" Acrylic on Paper

Today marks the first official day of winter for this year. I was greeted by a beautiful sunrise as I had brush in hand, ready to tackle the mountain once again. Warmer temperatures, and the recent onslaught of rain have eroded once again some of the snow from the base of the mountain. This painting captures a wider range of hues from the warm colors of the sunrise, to the browns at the base of the mountain, and the blues from the cold snow at the top of the peak.

Cougar Peak #355

4.75" x 6.75" Acrylic on Paper

Today.....another brisk chilly day as the rain and fog have finally lifted and colder temperatures have settled in. It is nice once again to be able to see the sun, as well as the top of the mountain. This image marks the last painting of fall and the begining of winter, and what will be the final ten paintings for Cougar Peak-A-Boo.

Cougar Peak #354

4.75" x 6.75" Acrylic on Paper

Once again the mountain was enveloped in a thick layer of clouds that obscured the peak of the mountain. There was a bit more green showing as some of the snow on the valley floor has begun to melt away....but as you climb higher up the mountain you still get more blue and grays because of the snow.

Cougar Peak #353

4.75" x 6.75" Acrylic on Paper

Today the valley was pummeled with freezing rain, the snow that was on the mountain is becoming saturated like a heavy wet sponge, and the mountain is enveloped in a fog of haze...and a haze of fog. For this painting I tried to purposefully keep most of my lines vertical, especially in the area of the clouds to help sell the look and feel or rain or some type of falling moisture.

Cougar Peak #352

4.75" x 6.75" Acrylic on Paper

This morning we were greeted once again to another dusting of fresh snow. The mountain itself was mostly enveloped in a thick layer of clouds and the fresh snow quickly turned to rain as the morning progressed. I started the image by doing a quick sketch in blue pencil and then first concentrating on my darker values and shapes, lightening up and concentrating on details towards the end.

Cougar Peak #351

4.75" x 6.75" Pastel on Paper

Decided to try a bit of pastel for this painting. I enjoy using NuPastel made by Prismacolor because they are neither too hard, nor too soft......just right. Plus that have a nice vivid bold color, as well as coming in a square stick that can be used to create sharp edges if need be.

Cougar Peak #350

4.75" x 6.75" Oil on Paper

The temperature warmed up significantly today, melting off a great deal of the snow that had accumulated on the mountainside. There was an intersting color palette consisting of dark greens on the bottom of the mountain transitioning to blues and grays.... culminating in a bright white at the top of the peak.

Cougar Peak #349

4.75" x 6.75" Oil on Paper

The snow from the heavens continues to fall upon the face of the earth and pile up on the slopes of the mountain. On this painting I started out by working up a very loose pencil sketch. I then came in back over the top of my sketch with my oils, first concentrating on my darker values and then working up from there.

Cougar Peak #348

4.75" x 6.75" Oil on Paper

More snow, snow, snow!! I started painting today as the snow flakes were falling down, down, down upon the mountainside. The falling snowflakes create a great atmosphere by which to paint and they end up simplifying things down to just a few values. I concentrated on getting the values just how I wanted...and then came back in over the top with final highlights and textures.

Cougar Peak #347

4.75" x 6.75" Gouache on Paper

Today there was another furry of snow that swept across the valley. On this painting I started out by laying in an average medium value which was the base for the falling snow. I then went darker in value to bring out the mountain and then lighter in value to illustrate the texture of the falling snow.

Cougar Peak #346

4.75" x 6.75" Gouache on Paper

Today another blanket of fresh snow spread wide across the valley and laid upon the mountainside. Switching back over to gouache, I tried to let the white of the paper do a lot of the talking for me, but there were also parts of the painting that I wanted to use some opaque white to bring some of the texture of the snow....as well as help give the feeling that the snow was laying on top of the mountain.

Cougar Peak #345

4.75" x 6.75" Oil on Paper

Another cold chilly day today as the tip of the peak was being protected by a blanket of clouds. This painting ended up having a slightly different look and feel as opposed to some of my other paintings. On this image I tried to be very conscious of blending my paints as I went along, instead of the often quick sharp strokes that I usually paint with.

Cougar Peak #344

4.75" x 6.75" Oil on Paper

The day started out once again with a bit of fresh snow dusting the valley. I started right in with my oils, first laying in my main shapes and blocking in some of my major values. After that I concentrated on getting the thick layer of clouds textured how I wanted it.....finally coming and and adding in the final details and highlights.

Cougar Peak #343

4.75" x 6.75" Oil on Paper

Today there was a wild blizzard of snow that moved through the valley and obscured the mountain. I decided to switch over to my oil paints, again to mix things up. Keeping my paints a bit stiff I started to build of layers of falling snow. Once I had my values worked out on my painting, I came back in and laying my brush on it's side, built up a nice quick snow flake texture......and walllaaa.

Cougar Peak #342

4.75" x 6.75" Acrylic on Paper

On today's painting I started out doing a quick sketch in blue pencil. Once my quick sketch was completed I came in back over the top with NuPastel, building up some quick values. I then sealed the image with an acrylic medium and painted over the top of my sketch with acrylics, letting the sketch work in my favor where I could and enhancing the sketch in other areas.

Cougar Peak #341

4.75" x 6.75" Acrylic on Paper

This morning was nice and crisp as the fog lifted during the night leaving the valley covered in a layer of frost. Finally again we have a clear unobstructed view of the mountain as the first rays of morning light lay bright golden rays of light upon the peak.

Cougar Peak #340

4.75" x 6.75" Acrylic on Paper

Once again this morning I was greeted by a thick layer of fog. With my brush and paints in hand, I was able to slice through a bit of it a revealing part of the mountain. Keeping my paints someone thin, I started building up layers of paint gradually darkening my values as I went along

Cougar Peak #339

4.75" x 6.75" Gouache on Paper

There was a bit of blue sky that was able to make an appearance today, taking away from the gloom of the heavy rains the last few days. For this image I started building up my darker values starting out at the base of the mountain and then working my way up. Finally I came in with my highlights and brighter areas of snow to tie the whole piece together.

Cougar Peak #338

4.75" x 6.75" Acrylic on Paper

The fierce battle of rain has ended and all that is left is the hazy fog of battle. The mountain was almost completely obscured this morning as I began to paint, and I tried to give a sense of it as it loomed behind all of that rising moisture.

Cougar Peak #337

4.75" x 6.75" Acrylic on Paper

Wet, stormy, and wet, wet, wet. Today the area was bombarded by warm rain that melted off a great portion of the new snow that had accumulated, as well as creating a soggy mess of what was left. On this painting on wanted to capture that rain and those heavy wet clouds as they surrounded Cougar Peak and laid siege to it.

Cougar Peak #336

4.75" x 6.75" Gouache on Paper

Today the valley and the mountain got blanketed with more fresh snow. One of the most beautiful sites to see is are those white flakes spiraling down out of heavens. For this image I attacked it similar as I did with yesterday's painting by first starting out painting over my paper with a medium gray value. After that I came in and built up the mountain and then finally coming in at the end adding in snow, highlights etc......

Cougar Peak #335

4.75" x 6.75" Acrylic on Paper

So we finally begin the month of December and are greeted by falling snow. Sort of a proper way to bring in the month I think. For this painting I quickly covered my entire surface in a medium gray value and then came back over the top either darkening or lightening my values. Finally I came back in and added the highlights and bits of falling snow.