Mount Olympus - Fall

Mount Olympus-Fall 8" x 10" oil by Greg Newbold

Here's a little commissioned piece that I finished recently. This shot of Mount Olympus actually is the view out my front door and I have had many opportunities over the years to capture some pretty dramatic lighting. You may remember a previous epic painting of this view in winter that I did a couple of years back called Autumn Dusting. Since this is a small painting at just 8" x 10", I used it as an opportunity to make a study for a larger painting. Of course I don't always polish my studies as much as I did this one. I like the dramatic sweep of the clouds and the shadows they cast across the peak as well as the bit of dappled light that makes the foothills come alive. This one will be fun to paint at the 30" x 40" scale that I have chosen. I'll post the large version once it is finished.

Also if interest is the fact that I had to ship this one to the recipient collector in Norway, so this is officially my first painting residing in an international collection. Fun stuff!

Autumn Dusting Small Prints Now Available

Autumn Dusting - 60" x 36" oil on canvas by Greg Newbold

I just wanted to let everyone know that prints of my large painting Autumn Dusting are now available Just in time for Christmas!. They are approximately 13" x 8" on archival heavyweight paper and are priced at $25 apiece. Shipping to most domestic U.S. locations is $3-5. If you want one or more. Please contact me at the above email address. I accept PayPal and Square. Merry Christmas everyone!

Autumn Dusting - Nearly Finished

Autumn Dusting- oil on canvas 36" x 60" by Greg Newbold

Just about finished with this big Mount Olympus painting. A few more adjustments here and there and I will call it done. This is the largest oil painting I have done to date and I am pretty pleased with it. It's interesting to paint this large and to see what tendencies are accentuated in the process of scaling up from small work. One thing that for sure seems to be coming through is my desire to stylize shapes. I found myself wanting to let the large planes rule and to eliminate non essential detail. For instance, I wanted to let the majesty of the mountain dominate, so I eliminated the entire neighborhood of houses that crouches on the foothills. I felt that the myriad shapes and roof lines were just distracting to the overall statement so, poof, they are gone. It's a better painting as a result. Now to order up a frame.

See the study and block in for this painting here

Mount Olympus- Rough Stage

Mt. Olympus (work in progress) 24" x 20" oil on canvas by Greg Newbold

I get basically this view out my front door every morning with the exception of the foreground elements. Mount Olympus rises from the valley floor to a height of 9,026 feet and is one of the most recognizable and picturesque peaks in the Wasatch range. I love seeing it every day and I figured it was about time I painted it. One evening a few weeks back, just after a spring snow, I took my camera in search of an angle that would eliminate most of the houses that pack the base of the mountain. I wanted an uncluttered vista that would focus on the geometry of the peak. It was just minutes before the sun would set as I hopped on the belt route to look for a high bench spot in which to capture the last light of the day. Lucky for me, I found a commercial building on top of a rise on the east bench of Salt lake City that backed onto a sage and tree filled empty lot. The clouds parted just enough for me to capture the setting light as it illuminated the peaks and the foreground trees and sage. This is the first pass and I will probably put in at least two more painting sessions before it is done, but I like to get the initial statement down as quickly as I can. This is probably about 3-4 hours of painting time including the drawing.