My Art in the Making #1
STAGE 1 I start with a benign greyish sky color and form in some tree shapes with undulating land dropping down in front with warm and cool colors. I use the fan brush and keep it thin. Aim is to get a rough scene blocked in. STAGE 2 Bolster the block elements with a middle value green in anticipation of areas in shadow and in light. The fan brush is the tool of choice. I work fast to keep a sense of spontaneity in the painting. The trees are mauve but may change as is the under paint mid-foreground. STAGE 3 Most of my strokes are short vertical, up and down, often twisting at the same time. The hairs on the brush part into batches and with the action I use leave multiple stroke lines rather than one. This adds to the apparent disorder. STAGE 4 Now I have most covered and I clear away an area for the figure to be sketched in.
I am efficient with my time in doing this and it is important I do this at this stage leaving the rest of the painting underdeveloped especially in highlights. We don’t want to put the figure in too late. Early is better. STAGE 5 Now to the run home. Up to now my range of colors was limited but to get a sense of real “pop” I bring in three new colors: Rose Dore, Cobalt Turquoise and Brilliant Red. The two reds combine wonderfully with the blue to yield some beautiful shades of red and blue mauve. The figure is finished using the liner brush and my “wet on wet” technique explained in previous demonstrations. STAGE 6 Now this is a real bouncy tonal looking painting with plenty of zing and pop to it. I’ve deliberately done this to a time of two hours to make myself be fast and furious. There is little real development of flowers or stems and leaf shapes but from the all-important 10 feet I have done enough for the eye to join the dots and see them. Nice impressionist type painting from just two brushes. Mauve component is about 30 percent with the shift to its partner blue about 40 percent.