Natural Beauty
Imogen Alexander captures the wondrous atmosphere when the sunlight illuminates the strength and beauty of the tall gums on a misty morning.
STEP ONE
Working from several reference photographs I decide to paint a dry sclerophyll forest scene. I want to create a painting that captures the strength and beauty of tall gums and the atmosphere of a forest on a misty morning with the sunlight illuminating the trees. The scene I am painting is derived from bushland I am very familiar with – in the Brookfield area in South East Queensland area where I grew up and still visit frequently. I have taken many photographs of the area that I use as reference.
Working from the photographs, my memory and my imagination I decide on the composition for the work and paint directly on to the canvas. I select a simple palette as the colours at this time of the day are muted and subtle and there are few shadows. I keep a mental note of my colour mixes as I progress so I can accurately
match the colours if I need more of the same colour later. I start by painting the background, covering the whole canvas in light blue. I add a small amount of lavender – blending the two colours together to create interest and atmosphere. I use a very light Burnt Umber wash to paint an impression of far background trees and foliage.
STEP TWO
At this stage I add some middle ground trees. An impression of middle ground is all that is needed at this early stage. To make the trees straight I use two strips of masking tape for the sides of each tree as a guide and paint in between them using Gold. I then add Burnt Umber and Ivory Black to add contrast. When this has dried a little I remove the masking tape.
STEP THREE
At this stage I begin to work on the foreground trees. Again I use masking tape to keep the trees straight. First I paint the trees Gold, then overlay some parts with Burnt Umber and Ivory black. I select gold to capture an impression of the sunlight illuminating the trees. I study the reference photographs and then start to create the texture of the bark and trunks.