The sunrise in this piece was based off a photo I took in Yellowstone National Park during our road trip last summer. The sun had just peaked over the trees and was shrouded in mist from the river below.
I think my favorite thing about this piece and the original scene if the mood. The mist and the water below the figure make it feel so quiet and serene. As if these scene takes place before all the birds and animals are awake and you feel secluded and safe.
Like most of my other Terra Human paintings, this piece started with the figure and from there I added the background nature components. I enjoy starting with the figure because I want to human to be the focus of the image and I usually spend most of my time working on the figure and adding detail.
Here is the photoshopped version that I created before the painting. I can see some difference that we choices that I made and some that were mistakes. Once I am finished with a piece I always see things that I can change and adjust but sometimes you need to just allow a painting to exist for what it is and try to improve on the next one.