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[[underlined]]Observation[[/underlined]]
I paint the sky flat, thin, the sky white ground unadded to. But the cerulean has no light and with ZWh becomes both opaque and greyer.
I paint the mountain by setting on ultramarine loose large shadow masses, viridian+ZW maedows, lemon yellow lights. The advantage of oil paint is the ease with which these large crude tones are now modelled into transitional tones and hues, while moist (impossible in pure water color) the half lights set over the blue and melted into it. I notice that the effect both of sky and mountain gets darker than the sketch and nature has it and the drawing or specific effect of detail masses also differs; but it is in that way more characteristic, definite, original and decorative both in colors, light or half shadow, and in objectivity than the motive and it might have so been just as well. The brush and palette instinctively lead one to a painting--or pictorial reality. Also I am satisfied that this much stronger colorite and drawing of sky and mountain is pictorial and possible under a very pure atmosphere and that it gives power and individuality of [[underlined]]impression to bring the back ground up to[[/underlined]] or quite near to the middle ground and this again to the foreground: not only to have planes, but one plane: the canvas plane as the main pictorial element.

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