Quiet reflection at Barron Falls - the painting in the making

My family and I recently visited the Barron River in the Atherton Tableland, just inland from Cairns. The beauty of this spot and viewpoint over the powerful Barron Falls took my breath away. Needless to say, I returned home a week later, feeling inspired to paint it.

I invite people to zoom in and really explore areas that they enjoy most. If you can - do as I do, and read paintings like a book. Many of my students tell me they would like to swim in the little still pool to the left of the major waterfall. Some enjoy the thrill of standing in the long grass, and wondering if it is as precipitous as it appears. I personally would love to fly a drone over the whole area - but as one man we saw on our visit learned the hard way, retrieving a crashed drone on those slopes is an impossible task! Other students simply give the painting a tertiary look, and go on with their own work.

Read on to see the finished product in the making.

STEP 1. This is my initial layout of Barron Falls, on a 30" x 40" canvas. The darkest colours were Burnt Umber and French Ultramarine. I then painted the greyish tones using the same mix, with a little Titanium White and a dash of Yellow Ochre Pale. For the purplish cliffs I added a little Cobalt Violet, thinned with Bio Thinners. Basically I just wanted to cover most of the canvas quickly. These colours are not TOO important and other mixes would be ok to use, because they will be covered with the second and third coats. I do use a little AS Wax Medium throughout this painting, as it promotes the drying time - but don’t use too much! This initial block took about 2 hours.

STEP 2. Here I have added a little more paint to the back cliffs using the same Burnt Umber, French Ultramarine mix with a tiny amount of Titanium White and Cobalt Violet. I drew in a few reference lines on the right side cliffs to break up the monotony of that large area. Not too much paint was applied here, but a little Titanium White was used with a small amount of Yellow Ochre Pale to lighten it up a little. The soft blueish effects were French Ultramarine plus Titanium White, and a little Alizarin Crimson. If it goes too purple, I neutralise it by using a tiny bit of Viridian. I scrubbed in a little Yellow Ochre Pale with Bio Thinners through some of the waterfall over the bare canvas. This step took about 2 hours.

STEP 3. I concentrate most of my energy into the upper areas and begin delineating the cliffs a little. The lighter colours on the clifftops are basically the same as the dark cliffs, with a touch more Titanium White. More atmosphere is now added to the right of the vertical fall. The misty effect was the French Ultramarine with a touch of Alizarin Crimson, and the start of vegetation, creeping through the mists and down the cliff, was mainly Viridian added to the blueish mist. If the colours used aren’t quite dark enough, I usually rely on Burnt Umber to deepen them. Be cautious though, as too much Burnt Umber can dirty the colours up big time! I also tend to favour lightening a colour, if I have used too much dark, by adding a speck of Yellow Ochre Pale, rather than relying on Titanium White. This step took about 5 hours.

STEP 4. I now commence filling in the treetops on the far left of the canvas, by first using a thin coat of Burnt Umber and Sap Green, then forming the tree shapes by using a little Viridian lightened with Yellow Ochre Pale. I do put a few touches of Burnt Sienna into some of them, to warm them up here and there. I then move across the thin waterfall on the left of the main waterfall, and repeat the same on the other side of it, only adding a slightly greyish tone which was used in the cliffs on the right hand side of the main waterfall. While working, I try to build up a bit more detail in the rock structure. At this stage, I then fill in the main waterfall using a liberal amount of Titanium White. I pull small patches of Yellow Ochre Pale through the water to show some of the tannin stains, and add a little French Ultramarine and some Viridian to show the slight transparent quality of the water as it rushes over the rocky outcrops. This step took around 4 hours.

STEP 5. I start shaping the trees in and near the mist using mainly Viridian over the dark background. Again, I have to juggle the warm or slightly cooler colours, as the trees recede or come out of the mist. A tiny glimmer of light shone on the sloping cliff to the right of the vertical waterfall, where I added a tiny amount of Cad Green Pale. More detailing is now added to the clifftops using a little Cobalt Violet to the original, and cooled down where I wanted a little more distance, with Viridian. The fissures were added with mainly the original dark colours from Step 1. Most of this work was painted using a size 4 or 8 Premier Red Ruby brush and for the smaller details I use a size 2 in the same brand. To create some of the personality of the cliffs, I had to use the varying colours of grey purple, blueish and green purples. Basically, I was using varying amounts of these colours, derived from the colours which are already mixed and still usable on my palette. If you look closely, you can see these colours throughout the cliffs, as well as on the various islands of rocky outcrops. I also added a suggested the boardwalk to the right of the vertical fall which gives people their first glimpse of these mighty waterfalls. I filled in the foreground grass using Burnt Umber, Sap Green and a little Viridian. The lighter patches were Yellow Ochre Pale. This all took about 6 hours.

STEP 6. There is a subtle transition from warm to cool in the painting, showing more warmth to the right of the vertical falls then receding into the cooler tones as you travel upwards and into the distance. This helps create what I call my temperature control; I am always adjusting the colours to create realistic feelings of depth. I consider things like, how much mist or floating water spray will cover the areas and which way is the wind blowing? Which rocky outcrops will be darker when they are wet? Colours are adjusted accordingly. This is where one has to mentally throw themselves into their work! Hear the crashing water! Feel the damp humidity! Smell the freshness in the air! This will help you immensely when you become an extension of your work. I actually played a recording I made on a video I took over and over as I painted the falls. The grass was done over several days, as I had to layer it with different tones of green for the depth. The underlying grasses were mainly Viridian warmed a bit with Burnt Sienna then Sap Green for the juicy top grasses. I do use a little Yellow Ochre Pale to lighten it and for the brightest accents Cadmium Green Pale.

The little bush was actually growing right where I painted it, as were its little yellow flowers, which I painted in Cadmium Yellow Light. The detailing was smaller to the left as I wanted give a gentle introduction to the colours on the trees to the left. They needed some softer tones as they went up the hill. Sap Green is then changed to Viridian, and varying amounts of Yellow Ochre Pale. These colours are often infused with the purples already mixed on my palette. The grass was painted with a Premier brush series 23, size 1 and a Premier Series 820, Cats Tongue size 4. This process took nearly 10 hours.

STEP 7. These are the final finishing touches. I again added seemingly small, but important changes, like the distant waterfall needing a few more rocky outcrops, and a little flat land mass at the back to eliminate the lake-look that it had taken on. More detailing throughout is added, especially on the rocky outcrops, and the delineation of the closer trees. The greys are usually a mix of Burnt Umber, Titanium White, AS Tasman Blue and Burnt Sienna. I do mix a little Alizarin Crimson in a few warmer areas on the rocks. The plum colour around the vertical falls was Cobalt Violet. The final touches took around 8 hours of carefully considered time.

I do hope this has been an informative and enjoyable read for you.