Over the past few weekends, I have been working on my latest commission – a painting of Mount Errigal, County Donegal, for my Uncle. While driving to and from his holiday home in Donegal, he enjoys the scenic views of the mountain and its surrounding landscape.

Below you can see the progress I’ve made so far in the first three WIP (work in progress) images. As usual, I always start with the background. In this case, the dark yet colourful cloudy sky with hues of blues and purples. The fluffy clouds were mirrored on the river, but in a streaky, blurry fashion to resemble that of a water reflection.

Mount Errigal is well known for the pinkish glow of its quartzite in the setting sun. Quartzite is the hard, non-foliated metamorphic rock that surrounds the peak of the mountain. I felt that my representation was a little too dark, so I lightened the mountain rock while adding in the base coat of the warm glow of the setting sun.

Brightening sections of the mountain rock, enhanced its contrast, making it more eye catching and more importantly, closer to reality. You start to get an idea of how the setting sun illuminates parts of the image, adding the beautiful colours and tones that are visible during ‘golden hour’.

The mountain is now complete. I’ve brought in the warm orange glow from the setting sun, passing over the hills and hitting the base of the mountain. Blending the oranges into the blues of the mountain was very difficult and time consuming. If you look closely, you can see the variety of colours and tones on the base of the mountain – oranges, yellows, greens, browns, blues and purples. Lower parts of the pale quartzite rock now have a slightly orange tone, which highlights the mountain’s iconic feature.

Next up, I will be painting the hills in the foreground, which will add in more greens and browns to the image. Followed by the reflection of it all on the river.

If you are interested in a commission, or are just curious about pricing and how it works, have a look at my Commissions page which will provide you everything you need.