Where I’ve Never Been

Not too long ago, a friend asked if I would paint a nighttime sky for him. He said, “I’ll give you $10.” “Sure,” I replied, leaving him shocked.

A few weeks later, while I was working on another painting, he reminded me of our conversation and showed me a screen saver on his computer, one with a mountain, snow, and a starry nighttime sky. He asked, “Can you do something like this?”

Well, the painting you see here is of a scene that resembles the one in the screen saver photo, but it’s not an exact replica. I did the foreground a little differently, for one thing.

The thing I wanted to accomplish in this piece was an evenly dark sky and realistic-looking snow. I also wanted the mountain to look as real as possible. What I did not anticipate was how getting the darkness of the sky correct lent to a real lighting effect on the mountain. It’s like it almost glows!

I’ve never been to a place like the one in this painting, but I would love to visit there one day. Cool, clean air, clear streams, and a majestic mountain dominating the view. But for now, my friend has a nice painting for $10 and I will have prints.

Want one?