Devils Backbone

This is my latest painting. If you have ever been to Broken Bow Lake in Oklahoma, this scene is a familiar one. It’s located right off of Beavers Bend Road. The river itself is called “Mountain Fork”, while the mountain ridge to the left is called “Devils Backbone”.

I have already done a painting called Mountain Fork. So I decided to name this one after the mountain ridge.

Notably, this area in Broken Bow stands out due to it’s great trout fishing. People from all over (mainly Texas) come here to fish these waters. River diversity seems to be the only thing consistent. Deep clear pools, riffles, and some areas I would be tempted to call roaring rapids exist here. A little bit of everything is in this stretch of the river.

Color Harmony

The reference material I had, was obtained in the late fall. If you look along the river bank, you’ll notice the sycamore trees still have their orange leaves. The mountain in the distance is lit up green from the pine trees that occupy it. Then, as we move closer to the viewer, the trees along the river bank are in the shade. Giving them a blue purple color.

Before starting a painting, I will usually refer to my color wheel as a handy guide in deciding the dominant colors. This sometimes can be tricky, because I don’t want to veer too far away from the original colors of a landscape. I have had people recognize the location of my paintings and say “you nailed the colors just right”. This is a common goal in my landscapes. It helps people relate to the painting.

In the world of art, we have certain colors that naturally go together. This is called color harmony. There’s complementary, triadic, split complementary, and monochromatic color schemes.

For this painting, I chose the triadic color scheme. It naturally wanted to go in this direction, so I went with it. You may be wondering what a triadic is? It’s three colors spaced equally apart on the color wheel. The three colors are blue purple, red orange, and yellow green. If you look closely, you’ll see the red orange from the trees reflecting on the water.

Atmospheric Conditions

Another thing I consider when starting a painting is the type of atmosphere I want to convey. I love a strong light source whenever possible. It helps to define space, depth and form. On a cool fall day with some wind and clouds. You will notice periods of bright light and dark, as the sun peeks out from behind the clouds. Most people never pay any attention to these things. My wife tells me my skies look angry. That’s good, I’m going for a certain mood. I find beauty in the menacing clouds.

My goal was to push the darker colors and brighten the lights as much as possible. This is done with all of my paintings, but I wanted to see how far I could go. Testing the boundaries without compromising the integrity of the piece.

Gallery Exhibit

Currently, I don’t have prints of this painting. Maybe in the future sometime, but for now it’s hanging in a nice place called “Gallery 259” in Hochatown Oklahoma. It’s done with my favorite medium, oil paint. Painted on a 18×24 stretched canvas.

Thanks for reading, and if you have an empty wall space that needs filled. Let me know, I believe this would enhance the appearance of any home or lake cabin.

Bryan Bramblett