Demonstration

Step 6

I set aside some of the grey mix on the palette and added lots of water until I made a pale grey. The sunlight coming in from behind the trees illuminates the path at the far end so I chose to leave this white. Using the No. 10 brush, I ran a little clear water along the horizontal path behind the trees and extended it down the main path to where the seat is positioned. I then filled the brush with the watery grey and ran it across the entire area of the path. I kept filling the brush with paint and sweeping it across from side to side, gradually working towards the foreground. In this way, I avoided overbrushing or creating watermarks.

2 The verge to the left was painted using the Round No. 6 and a blend of the light green. I began at the far end and gradually worked towards the foreground, adding successive touches of grey and burnt umber. The intensity of the darker colours increased as I worked forwards. I also left little flashes of white paper to represent the dappled light. Again, I carefully painted around the seat.

3 For the shadows on the grass to the right, it was important to mix the right shade so I added water to the dark green mix and kept testing it on another piece of paper until it was right. I filled the Round No. 8 brush and, starting at the back, gradually worked the shadows towards the foreground, leaving patches of light green showing to represent the dappled light. I then added burnt umber and dark grey in front of the large tree.

4 I drew a patchwork of dappled light areas on the path with a soft pencil.