Spencer Mackay - Kolob Canyon Winter

Kolob Canyon is an area of Zion National Park that is accessible from the I-15 by a separate ranger station north of the main park entrance.  Because it is just off the I-15, we have often taken a detour on our road trips to visit this magical canyon of red rocks and hanging meadows.

In the Winter, there is often snow, which really accentuates the red cliffs and blue sky.  This is my first attempt at capturing the experience of visiting Kolob Canyon in the winter.  It was important to me to capture the cools in the shade and the warmth of the sunlight.

Watercolor is an adventure for me.  Part of the painting experience is the portion of the painting that happens almost accidentally.  I plan and make a strategy of how I will preserve the lights and white of the paper and usually do a small study to make sure my values are correct, but the part where the painting paints itself is exciting to me and part of the joy of creating in watercolor.

I used masking fluid to preserve the white of the paper for the dry trees in the foreground and some of the small snow patches.  That allowed me to use broad washes without regard to painting in between the branches.  A very small amount of white gouache was used for some branch tips and a couple of snow patches.