Twilight’s Edge 5x7
There’s a delicate balance in Tonalist painting between expressive brushwork and careful precision. In this post, I’ll walk you through my process for a recent 5x7 painting called “Twilight’s Edge,” exploring the decisions that shaped this atmospheric landscape and sharing some insights that might help your own painting journey.
Twilight’s Edge 5x7
This scene is based on a photo I took about ten years ago in England, at a place called the High Downs. I’ve painted variations of this scene many times before, but this version includes a significant departure from the reference: the addition of a distant lake. In the original photo, we had foliage only on the left side where the distant hills are. While I initially worked with that arrangement in previous versions, in this instance I decided to install a distant lake and make it nice and bright, with a corresponding brightness in the sky. This decision really enhanced the composition, creating a focal point and adding depth to the scene.
Challenges in Small-Scale Paintings
Working at this 5x7 scale presents particular challenges, especially when finessing elements like the lake’s edge. One important lesson I’ve learned after making thousands of paintings is not to get too stressed about smaller aspects that might be giving you trouble. When you find part of your painting causing a headache, take a couple of passes at resolving it, but don’t become fixated. Excessive focus on a problematic area can actually work against you—as the viewer will naturally spend more time focused on areas where you’ve invested the most attention. Ironically, they might not have even noticed the issue if you hadn’t overworked it. As long as your composition is sound and your colors and value structure are good, most viewers will respond to the painting as a whole rather than scrutinizing specific areas.
Expression and Precision
My goal is to make a fresh, expressive artistic statement—not so immediate that it’s slapdash, but something that effectively communicates the scene and the emotional effect I’m after. For those interested in exploring this Tonalist approach in depth, my book “Landscape Painting the Tonalist Way” collects 13 years of painting experience and knowledge in one volume. When I first set out to paint in a Tonalist manner, I had limited resources—primarily Stapleton Kearns’ blog (though he’s not a Tonalist) and Birge Harrison’s book “Landscape Painting.” My book is designed as a modern extension of these resources, offering comprehensive guidance for contemporary painters interested in Tonalism. It’s available for $60 US with international shipping included to wherever you are on the planet.
Building from Darks to Lights
My process follows a consistent pattern: underpainting, sky, then pivoting directly into the darks of the landscape. For these dark areas, I use a mixture of Mars Black with a little bit of burnt umber. I place the darks in first because shadows typically lie underneath everything else in nature. Once the darks are in place, it feels like I’m 75-80% of the way there with the painting—all that remains is to paint the rest of the landscape to meet the sky. This approach allows me to work expressively while maintaining structure. I’m not interested in getting “in the weeds” by carefully delineating every bunch of foliage that constitutes a tree. While I have the technical ability to do that, I prefer expressing the shape and form of the tree in a looser manner that remains cohesive. The structure comes from working logically from shadow areas to middle tones and finally to highlights.
Color Choices and Materials
In this painting, the color palette leans toward rusty yellows and purplish grays, establishing an almost complementary relationship that works very effectively. These purplish grays offset the yellows in a balanced way that enhances the twilight mood. Regarding materials, I still use ivory black extensively, especially for color mixing when I want to mute a color. However, for establishing dark areas, I prefer Mars Black because of its opaque nature, which allows me to put those darks in with good transparency. Mars Black also makes it easier to add shadow bits into lighter areas, which can be a struggle with the more transparent ivory black. I encourage painters to try both blacks. For making what I call “Mike’s Green,” I use ivory black mixed with either cadmium yellow hue (PY73/PY74) or Gamblin’s Hansa Yellow.
The Artist’s Legacy
I’ve found myself reflecting on artistic legacy lately. I believe most artists would like to be remembered, and the best way to ensure that is to pursue mastery diligently. That’s why I occasionally destroy paintings that don’t meet my standards—probably 2-4 paintings each year. Just this morning, I destroyed a painting of a path through trees where the interaction of light and sky with the trees was bothering me. While it wasn’t the worst thing I’ve ever done, I work to make beautiful things with the intention that my paintings will survive me. What you don’t want is a subpar painting “stinking up your legacy.” I’ve seen bad paintings from painters I admire, and it definitely diminishes my overall impression of their work. So if you produce something that’s not up to your standards, don’t be afraid to let it go. For those interested in seeing more of my painting process, including the struggles and solutions that don’t always make it into these edited videos, consider joining my members area where I share complete painting sessions in detail in 4k with no ads.
Until next time, take good care of yourself, your family, all your loved ones—and stay out of trouble.
Mike