Painting Method: Hundred Acre Wood etc.

PAINTING METHOD

For tree/sky paintings (at least)

EQUIPMENT

• Smooth birch panel prepared with three coats of watered down white glue
• Larger long filbert (6 or so)
• 2 smaller brushes—long filbert and round (1 or 2)
• jar or can of clean terps (odourless mineral spirits actually)
• small cup of linseed oil
• palette and paint
• rags or toilet paper

METHOD

• Lay panel flat to paint (sit on ground and look up)

• Start with larger long filbert and use lots of oil and terps

• Start with trees—start with darkest colour

• Use black with a dark transparent green (olive green/sap green/pthalo green) mixed with whatever else appropriate—but use only transparent colours here (alizarin/prussian or pthalo or ultramarine blue/umber/sienna/Indian yellow)

• Looking carefully at the subject, punch and swirl in the larger areas of dark, switching to smaller brushes for details

• Come over top with any lighter greens as necessary, using opaque colours if appropriate—chromium oxide green/Indian yellow/other yellows—mixes of ochre or raw sienna with a blue etc whatever is called for—let them cover and pick up the dark areas creating spatial depth and volume and highlights

• When trees are finished go in with sky—making sure to use small accurate brushes for going in and around trees—continue to use lots of oil and pay attention to the colour and shape of clouds and sky--don't let yourself get bored here and simply mix up a blue and put it around. The lack of love will show. Look carefully at the variations in colour and texture of the sky. Keep interested and it will be interesting.

Cobalt blue makes beautiful greys mixed with black and white or umber, or the siennas.

Sky varies but don’t add too much white to the blues—keep it rich—ultramarine and white make a good basic sky blue, but don’t forget curelean … 

For turquoise or lighter warmer sky, often toward the horizon, try adding Naples yellow to your blue--but Naples can be weird so try and experiment.

Remember to love what you're doing....

That should do it…