St Arnaud Tarn [Untitled]

St Arnaud Tarn [Untitled] New Zealand
Original acrylic painting on cedar framed board
By Michelle Bellamy
1000 x 800mm
In progress 2024-2025
SOLD

I’ve been keeping busy in the studio over the past few weeks, adding fine detail to current works and beginning to map out new scenes.
Pictured here is one of the paintings I’m currently working on - a depiction of one of the tarns catching the morning light on the St Arnaud Range above Parachute Rocks at Lake Rotoiti. This particular tarn sits to the far right (facing east) and feeds into Merry Stream and many of you may have looked down on it from the ridge above during a visit.
It’s still in the early stages, but I’m really enjoying how the morning light is beginning to take shape. With many more layers to come, I’m hoping to further draw out that luminous quality.
I have put the final layers on the tarn and am now adding in the sun bleached tussocks that overlap the tarn and carry on in front of the hill shadow. These tussocks are more of the individual strands, very detailed and time consuming to do as the more layers the better. I am pleased with how these are progressing, just trying to make sure they don't look too stiff. There is also some mountain fauna in various colours that contrast nicely with the snow grass.