Ruth Soller » Blog

I'm thrilled to share with you my oil painting in my National Parks series. Nymph Lake  in Rocky Mountain National Park is the second lake you will reach hiking up from the Bear Lake parking lot. I was attracted to the unusual yellow water lily flowers in Nymph Lake and had not seen these before. I learned that Nymph Lake was named after the flowers which reminded someone of water fairies or nymphs. This painting is about the lyrical pattern created by the shapes of the lotus leaves floating on the water and interspersed with the yellow flowers and the stems beneath the water. Adding to the design are reflections of the pines along the shores along with light from the blue sky bouncing off the water's surface. I'm pleased with this analogous color harmony as well.

How many shades or tints of green can you find in this painting? How do you think each of these greens was mixed?