People often ask how long this painting (covering a 5 x 2.5 meter wall) took. It began on October 25, 2012, and ended on August 2, 2016.
Most of the work was done by the end of 2012, but I paused because I wasn’t ready to paint the water. I finally completed it in just a few days in August 2016, despite still not feeling ready, which is reflected in the final work. This painting taught me the biggest lesson:
Patience with your creative outlets is essential, as some aspects only emerge when they're ready.
Below are the stages of the process presented in chronological order.
The initial stage where I attempted using soft pastels.
Started with acrylics to the forest.
Here, you can see me working on the mountains.
The sky and the upper portion of the mountains are mostly complete.
More is done on the upper section of the mountains.
The forest from the furthest shore, in the central part of the view, reveals
itself.
:-)
I invited others to paint and explore their own interpretations of fir trees.
As you can see, my daughter's contributions were quite artistic and beautiful. I still regret not allowing them to be part of the final work! :-(
I also sought advice and listened to others who were painting as well.
