Dusk On The Yangtze

Yesterday, I was browsing Wikipedia when I came across this photo someone took in 2007 of the Three Gorges along the Yangtze river. It didn't say explicitly but this area was probably submerged after the dam was built. Anyway, I loved the haze of the distant walls and the way the sky and the landscape blend together so I decided to paint it.

The first thing I did was copy the outlines to a sheet of tracing paper to check my own drawing. I didn't feel confident enough to just rely on being able to make a drawing without assistance and I wanted to get the proportions right. I've been using tracing paper here and there in situations when I felt unsure of my drawings, like the nose drawing I got stuck on a week or so ago.

Overall, I'm quite happy with how the painting turned out. I wish I'd been able to make it look more washed out to capture the haziness of the original. I like how the sides of the canyon turned out and how they recede into the distance with lighter colors. I'm also fairly happy with the sky.

I hope that one day I can go back to China and paint some landscapes.