Last minute changes

Beneath the White Mountain

Original Oil

11.5" x 28"

This is one of those paintings I thought was done when an idea burst into my head. I had painted all the trees, the cattle, the Masai, the sky and the clouds. When I stood back, the slight change of colors I had painted in the sky suggested something back there. That is when it hit me. What if I painted Kilimanjaro in the background?  I had been in the vicinity of the mountain when I saw the cattle but I didn't see the mountain until the next day.

Here comes the tricky part. I was happy with what I had already painted. Do I risk painting in the mountain, something which was not part of the plan? Will it make a difference to the painting? The photos I took of the mountain had that faint (and maybe mystical) feel. Could I pull off a subtle mountain for the highest peak on the continent?

I decided to go for it and am glad I did. For me it gives the painting the extra flavor it needed.