This painting depicts a foggy sunrise at the Jinshanling section of the Great Wall of China.  The Jinshanling section lies between Miyun county of Beijing and Luanping county of Hebei Province, 140 km from Beijing. It is a World Heritage Site and a National Priority Protected Site. It is an important architectural treasure of the Ming Dynasty (1368 –1644 AD).  The Jinsanling Wall is 6.3 miles long and is joined on each end by other sections of the wall.   It has six cols (gates), 68 dilous(towers) of varied form and two FengHuoTai (high watch towers).  The wall is the main body for the whole system. It has a stone base. The wall itself is a brick shell filled with stone and earth. Where the landform is even, the wall is about 15 to 17 feet high. The width at the bottom is about 17 feet.   This section of the Wall has had less restoration than others such as the heavily touristed Badaling section. 

The various sections of the Wall were constructed at different times starting about 220 BC in the Qin Dynasty up through the Ming Dynasty and have differing designs.  The wall was constructed to provide defense from the "barbarians" in Mongolia to the north.  Subsequent to the Ming Dynasty Mongolia became part of China so the Wall no longer was needed.  Bricks from the Wall had been scavanged by peasants to build houses, pig styes and chicken coops before the Chinese government enacted laws to protect it in the 1980s.  You can download the following interesting report that includes numerous photos and an assessment of work needed to restore certain parts of the Jinshanling section at the link below.  

Jinshanling Report2005-08.pdf (5.88 mb)

The painting is acrylic on  1/4-inch masonite and measures 24 x 36 inches.  A larger image of this appears in the Gallery section of this web site. 

For my approach to watercolor I need absolutely flat paper, ripples from expanding wet paper are not acceptable.   When wet, watercolor paper expands mostly in one direction (about 3/4 inch in 36 inches) so if it has not been prestreched you get ripples as soon as your watercolor dampens the surface.  These really create havoc with obtaining nice smooth graded washes.  The secret to making a good stretched paper is to use a somewhat flexible substrate like 1/4-inch thick masonite.  Wet the WC paper thoroughly for about 5 to 10 minutes then lay it on the masonite.  Let it set for a few minutes while more ripples appear then pull them out and follow with gummed tape and stapling every 2 inches on the edges.  the tension developed as the paper dries will bow the masonite somewhat so that the dry paper becomes like a drum - taught and smooth.  When the paper is again wetted by the watercolor the bow in the board will flatten somewhat but still some tension will be retained on the paper - no ripples form though.  The key is that the board must be somewhat flexible so the spring of the material keeps tension on the paper whether wet or dry.  Using a very stiff board  or an old hollow core door only results in partial release of tension as the paper tears slightly at the staples.  With these substrates I generally had problems with ripples when painting wet with 140 lb paper.

One of the problems with painting in acrylics as opposed to watercolor is that it can be difficult to make your backgrounds appear to be distant (atmospheric perspective).  Items in the distance need to be somewhat out of focus, bluish, and show lower contrast than the foreground objects.  What I do is paint the background with somewhat thinner paint (mixed with medium) then when the rest of the painting is complete add several thin glazes of light blue thinned greatly with medium and water (containing acrylic flow release or just water with a tad of Spic and Span).  This adds the bluish tint and reduces the contrast in the background. 

Most of us use reference photos in making realistic landscape paintings.  Although making an exact copy of a reference photo really contributes nothing to the art world, a well composed reference photo can save you a lot of time composing the painting.  Take a little extra time with your reference photos to get the composition right.  Maybe you will still have to move a bush or rock and add a few things but it it will save lots of grief later when your painting doesn't have much appeal because of poor composition.  Digital cameras really make this a simple process so you can take several "well composed" shots of your subject from which to select the best composition as a starting point. 

Harvey was a wild peacock who arrived in our neighborhood in August 2005 along with his bride, Henrietta.  The two remained in the area feeding off the seeds they could find, sunflower seeds we had put out and other food by various neighbors.  They didn't seem to care whether it rained or snowed preferring to stay in the area and roost in the tall douglas fir trees.  Henrietta and Harvey quit getting along in mid summer 2006 and she left.  Harvey stayed on enjoying the easy life he had here.  In Spring 2008 while he was pumped up and aggressive he took on a passing car and lost.  During his stay he had become sufficiently domesticated to come when he was called for food and would eat out of our hands.  His entire time here he was a free bird, and his own bird.  We all miss him, even his springtime "YEOWs" in the middle of the night. His portrait while resting on our deck rail is a 22x28-inch acrylic on watercolor paper.

A low cost subsitute for acrylic flow release is to use a pinch of Spic and Span in a glass of water.  This is a surfactant like flow release which reduces the surface tension of water allowing the acrylic paint to spread evenly and wet the painting surface.

Ralph and Sue rescued Petey from the animal shelter two years ago.  When he arrived home Petey was a scrawny, scared little Yorkie who had been abused.  The little guy didn't know how to play and was frightened by any sudden movement.  Now he has developed a round belly and runs to get a toy when Ralph comes home from work.  His portrait is a 20 x 24-inch acrylic on canvas.