I chose this close-up view of one Lake Powell's intriguing side canyons to study the stains caused by water run-off and the way they reflect in Lake Powell's still waters. The deep water undulates like a huge sheet of plastic, bending the sandstone reflections into warped psychedelic shapes.

1. I start with some bold washes on the rocks, letting the pigments mingle together in subtle variations of warm and cool, light and dark. When dry, I come back over the top with the side of my brush and create some textural effects. Here I am starting the stains from the rain which drips down the surface and into the lake.

2. Already we can sense the massive shapes of the rocks due to the shadows.With my paper tipped upward, I bring in some of the varnish stains, letting the paint drip and flow naturally down the surface.

3. I still have more work to do, both building up the texture as well as darkening up my values to create contrast. But you can see the effect of the vertical stains at this point

4. After laying in my cast shadows on the rocks, I can start on the water. Wetting the whole surface I lay in the light blue reflections of the sky in the center first and let it dry. Then I come back over the top starting to shape the reflections loosely. I will tighten them up considerably as I work on this more tedious part of the painting.

5. A lot of work has gone into the water reflections trying to capture the amazing shapes that undulate and bend with every ripple that rolls into the rocks. Anyone who spends time on Lake Powell as I have done over the past 20 years, will recognize these unique reflections.

"Reflections of Solitude - Lake Powell"
22 x 29 Transparent watercolor by Roland Lee

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