DEMONSTRATION

Lily Pond Morning

► STAGE ONE

With the No. 12 brush, and a mix of burnt sienna, ultramarine blue and a little Gamsol (only enough to get the paint to spread easily without being drippy) I quickly brushed paint on the surface, and spread it with a paper towel so the white was covered. I was going for a neutral mid-value tone that leans warm. I made bold motions with my arm, to loosen up and get the blank canvas covered. Don’t worry about making it perfect; allow for variety and leave sweeping marks for movement. Repeat this process if you’re feeling timid. This step should only take a couple of minutes

► STAGE TWO

With the same brush, paint and wiping method, I indicated the main value areas of the composition. The lightest areas, such as the sky, can be revealed by wiping. The darker masses can be established with less wiping. The main compositional areas can lean warm or cool as well. You can move areas of the composition around very easily. Keep the shapes very general but in the right spots. This step also should be done quickly

◀ STAGE THREE

I cleaned my palette and brush and stopped using Gamsol, and washed my hands well (or sometimes I use gloves). I used three brushes to mix three main colours, a dark, light green and blue, and started spottingin areas with enough paint on my brush to leave a solid stroke each time. I paid attention to where the colours were going and making adjustments to them as I started covering the base tones

▲ STAGE FOUR

I wanted to establish the centre of interest and the scale of the foreground. With a bit of Gamsol on a paper towel, I wiped away some paint where the main blooms would be. With a clean No. 4 brush I blocked in the blooms and I made some of the shapes of the foreground lily pads. I was keeping in mind how the shapes transition from the more round ellipses in the foreground to the flatter and smaller-sized ellipses as they recede

▲ STAGE FIVE

I painted in the background, adjusting the colours to become more muted with atmosphere. With full strength paint now on most of the painting, it was time to start restating, adjusting colours and shapes

▲ STAGE SIX

The surface was nearly covered. The pattern and variation of the lily pads in light and shadow have become more apparent

▲ STAGE SEVEN

I gave more variety to the lily pads, making sure I liked their meandering path in the light and suggested additional blooms. I slowed my painting to consider more carefully what still needed to be done. I stepped away more frequently to get perspective

▼ FINISHED PAINTING

Lily Pond Morning, oil on linen, 16320in (40.5351cm).

After further work in the background I deepened some values in the water