It’s exciting to finally be able to share this most recent painting of mine, Knik River Crossing. It features an Alaska Railroad train crossing over the partially frozen Knik River near the Old Glenn highway. The snow-covered Chugach Mountains, and in particular East and West Twin Peaks and Goat Rock, rise above the river valley in the background. It’s a view I see every time I go into Anchorage (minus the train, that’s more rare).
The idea behind Knik River Crossing was to combine the natural beauty of the state with the pioneering spirit of those that built the railroad. The Alaska Railroad only came into being in the early part of the 1900’s, initially starting out in Seward. In the decades that followed, the railroad expanded north and eventually reached Anchorage and Fairbanks. The communities surrounding this new form of transportation grew and much of what we see today is a result of that expansion. Looking back at those days now, it’s fascinating to think that a city like Anchorage started out as a tent city to house the workers building the railroad.
What I wanted to capture with this painting then is the beauty of the state and the pioneering spirit of those that built the railroad and helped shape the State of Alaska into much of what it is today. The Chugach Mountains, the Knik River and the wintery landscape seemed like good candidates to include.
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The Painting Process
Painting Knik River Crossing posed several challenges for me. Mountains I have painted before so I felt comfortable I could master those without issues. However, I knew the sky and the clouds would be challenging, as would the river at the bottom, primarily because I haven’t painted a lot of clouds and not much water (if any!).
I knew that I needed to take an extra step with this painting, sketching it out first to see if my idea would actually work and whether I felt comfortable tackling some of the aspects I haven’t painted so often before. This was also painted with watercolor and actually includes some aspects I didn’t include in the final (like the fog).
Once I completed the sketch and felt comfortable with the overall composition, I was ready.
As with most of my other paintings, I started with the background: the sky. I actually painted the sky at the same time that I painted the sky for Silent Solitude. I wanted them both to have the same color and I think it worked out well.
Once the sky was done, I moved onto the clouds. I spent quite a bit of time on the clouds, working on the transparency and the shapes. In fact when it comes to clouds, I pondered painting them two different ways: 1) on top of the blue, knowing that the blue would likely mix with the white to some extent or 2) leave spots in the blue for the clouds so that the clouds could be painted directly on the white paper. In the end, as you can see, I went with option 1, primarily because I felt that clouds would look more realistic if the blue of the sky was partially visible through the clouds.
From there, it was on to my favorite part: the mountains. I spent several hours on the mountains, first painting the background colors and then working in the dark and light areas of the mountains themselves. In the end, I’m quite happy with how they turned out.The
Moving down, the trees were next. In the painting, the trees cover the bottom part of the mountain side and are mostly uniform. I actually ended up buying a specific brush for this section and I’m glad I did. It made it so much easier to complete this section.
Next, it was time for the bottom half of the painting. First, it was time to start coloring in the frosty vegetation between the tree line and the river shore, then work on the river itself. The primary challenge here was the water and the ripples on the water surface but also the shadows from the bridge and the cliff on the right.
I left the bridge and the train for last. I had some decisions to make here on what kind of train to include and what kind of train cars to add. The train ended up somewhat shortened to fit in more train cars and I also included one of the taller passenger cars with the observation decks for better viewing.
Adding the details on the train was the last step. For me, this sealed the deal with this painting. The train came alive, just as the mountains had many hours before. Together, they made a cohesive image, exactly the way I wanted it to be. It became Knik River Crossing.
Availability
The original painting has already sold and is, as I’m writing this, on its way to a new home in the Pacific Northwest. However, I have both 5×7 and 8×10 inch prints available for purchase here on my website, as well as on my Etsy store.
https://artbymattias.com/work/knik-river-crossing
https://www.etsy.com/listing/4314129617/knik-river-crossing-art-print-of-alaska
Additional formats, such as postcards and greeting cards, will also be available later this summer. Keep an eye on my website for (and this space) for more information about availability.
