Skykomish River above Eagle Falls

10" x 8" Oil on panel.

Very early this year, I executed a painting of the Skykomish river just past Eagle Falls. It captured the red branches of bare bushes above the deep green river. This painting is of the stretch of river just a little ways up the road. There is a break in the trees along highway 2 that let me see these brilliant yellow bushes in the riverbed.

With this study, I was really looking to work on capturing the stunning color and contrast of the bushes, blue shadows, and bright gravel of the riverbed. The composition is too busy, but I think there may be a larger painting lurking here. I would like to better capture the rapids in the background and maybe leave out the still water in the foreground.