Painting the Outback in Oils

Painting the outback.

Ayer’s rock, or as it is known “Uluru” is not only one of Australia’s major landmarks but also it is one of the most sacred and important aboriginal sites. I travelled to the “Red Centre” of Australia in the Northern Territory couple of years ago, and visited some of the most beautiful places I’ve been to so far.

In this painting I wanted to show the vastness of the land with this massive sandstone monolith occupying a dominant position in the painting. A big sky will complement the subject.  

Above is one of the reference photos I used for this painting. I also prepared some sketches (to scale with the canvas) and then I chose the one that I liked most. Following that on my notebook I did some planning of the colors to use and of the various color values. To do this I use a value comparative which helps me a lot to judge my values correctly. My aim is that during the first phase of the painting I get as much as possible close to the end product in what has to do with values and color. Then when the canvas is entirely covered with paint I will be able to judge by comparing one color to the other next to it and adjust accordingly.

For myself the first stage of the painting is the most important one and most labour intensive. By the end of this stage I will need to have all the canvas covered with paint and establish shapes and form of most of the elements. I also try to get as close as possible to the right tones and values. By the end of this stage I want to see most of the painting only lacking detail and minor adjustments. Since the sky plays a very important role in this painting, I decided to start from the sky by blocking in the clouds leaving empty spaces for the sky. For the sky I usually use an old big brush so that I can literally scrub the paint all over. When painting the sky I try not to paint it as a solid object always keeping in mind that I am painting air. 

The next step was to block in the foreground and the rock itself. The main rock formation was painted using a mixture of cobalt/ultramarine blue, white and Quinacridone Magenta. Using a cloth I softened edges and lifted paint of to expose the underpaint while establishing where to place the highlights in the next step. 

 The next stage was to start adding the details. Using various mixtures of white with burnt sienna, cadmium scarlet, alizarin, yellow ochre and ultramarine blue, I gave more form and detail to the ground at the front and middle parts of the painting, giving the impression of cracked ground washed away by water. More form, details and highlights were added to the trees and bushes all across the painting. Using a warm and cooler version of the base mixture described above the details and highlights were added to Ayer’s Rock. Reflected light from the sky was painted using a mixture of white with ultramarine blue.  
Gradually I always do some minor adjustments and add more details during the first couple of weeks until I see that there is nothing else to add. 

Nellies Glen Lookout

Couple of months ago, on a Sunday afternoon, we went for a short drive up to the Blue Mountains and somehow we ended up at a location known as Nellie's Glen. The place is very close to where Explorer's Tree is found, just before you enter Medlow Bath and where one also finds the beginning of the six foot track. The day was warm but cloudy with the occasional shower and thunderstorms, just a typical summer afternoon.What inspired me in the scenery was the intermittent light coming from the broken clouds, especially the warm afternoon light.
 

Materials used:

• 45 x 90 cm stretched 10 oz cotton canvas
• Brushes: Flat 10 - 12 for underpainting. A selection of long flats, 4,6,8 and long filberts 2 & 4
• Oil paints (Art Spectrum, Landgridge, Norma), liquol for underpainting, Langridge Oleogel:

Titanium/zinc white, sap green, Burnt sienna, Australian red gold, Australian grey, raw and burnt umber
Blues: Ultramarine Blue, Cobalt blue, Manganese Blue
Reds: Permanent alizarin, Pilbara red, Vermilion, Indian red
Yellows: Lemon Yellow, cadmium yellow light,  cadmium yellow medium, cadmium orange, yellow ochre

Under-painting (Blocking in)

First I sketched briefly the outline of the main shapes in the painting. From the photos that I had as reference I completely changed the foreground of the painting by adding two trees one on each side of the painting. Using a very diluted wash with liquol the main shapes were blocked in. Liquol (Art Spectrum) is similar to liquin and helps the paint to dry very quickly.

Blocking in the main composition

The next step was to start establishing the form and light. As shown in the picture above initially I was going to place the light source as if it is coming from the right hand side (as seen by the highlights on the right front tree). However I changed the direction of the light later on to the middle part. Since the sky was pretty much grey and cloudy it was very difficult to see where the sun was. I also started adding some clouds using a mixture of ultramarine blue, permanent alizarin and raw umber. At this stage I use big flat brushes to quickly cover the canvas and avoid the temptation of fiddling too much. I also found that the colors I used initially for the underpainting were a little bit too light and so I darkened the overall picture, with the exception of where I wanted the highlights.

Establishing form and light

Mid- and fore-ground
Now the real work and fun started...adding the details. I wanted this painting to have lots of details, after all I love detail. From here on wards I used smaller brushes usually very long small filberts (Art Spectrum series 1100 brushes). These brushes are excellent, they keep their shape and they are relatively soft making it easy to apply layers of colors by softly touching the canvas. I started using the gel medium from Langridge, which gives more texture to the paint while at the same time makes the paint flow easier on the canvas. The rock formations on the right hand side were painted using a painting knife and a mixture of Pilbara red, ultramarine blue, vermilion and burnt sienna.
Cliff faces of distant mountains were painted using white and Pilbara red (tinted with more white for the most distant ones). Yellow was added to highlight objects directly hit by sun while for objects lit by day light, white was added to the base color.
As in any other painting, distant objects are less defined, lighter and cooler (more blue added) when compared to the ones closer to us. Nearby objects are well defined, darker and warmer.
I also used what is known as negative painting to define better objects like the front tree on the left. Using a slightly darker version of the sky (or background) colour, I painted over parts of the foliage to open up space and define more branches.

The finished painting

 

The end of another day (acrylic painting)

I am going to demonstrate a different style of painting, this time painted in acrylics. One of the main differences between oils and acrylics is their drying time. Acrylics dry up by evaporation of water while oil colours react with the air in what is known as oxidation. The fast drying time of acrylics can be of a disadvantage but also of an advantage. It is an advantage if I want to paint several layers of very thin paint (glazing) without having to wait for a long time for the previous layer to dry up. Atelier Interactive acrylic paints are not only especially formulated to prolong their drying time but also they can be reworked after couple of hours if becoming wet again after the paint was already touch dry. This helps you to blend colors into each other in a way similar to oil colors.

The subject of this painting is a sunset and view over a typical Australian farmland. Painting sunsets is fun creating a lot of interesting colors in both sky and land. I decided to keep the colors as much as possible vibrant while making the best out of the complementary colors. Red, green, yellow and purple/violet are the main colors used in this painting.

Materials used: 101 x 50 cm stretched 10 oz cotton canvas Brushes: Normal 1 inch and 2 inch house painting brush, selection of medium and small flat Taklon brushes A selection of painting knives Color palette (Atelier Interactive Acrylics & Derivan Matisse): Titanium white, Olive green, burnt sienna, raw sienna, Burnt Umber, brilliant violet, dioxazine purple, Payne's Grey, Pthalo green Blues: French Ultramarine Blue, Pthalo Blue, Cobalt blue Reds: permanent alizarin, Brilliant Magenta Yellows: Naples Yellow, cadmium yellow light,  cadmium yellow medium, cadmium orange, vermilion Under-painting (Blocking in) For this painting I decided to use a vertical canvas, unlike most landscape paintings. The horizon line was set to slightly above the middle part of the canvas. When painting sunsets, one needs to remember that the warmest colors are those around the light source, in this case the setting sun. The further we go away from the sun the cooler it will become. The easiest way to remember this is to look at the color wheel, take cadmium yellow light as the warmest color and just move anti-clockwise towards the purples and blues. This order needs to be followed when painting both sky and land. The first layer of underpainting was done using a 2 inch house painting brush with not too thick but neither too thin layer of color. Cadmium yellow light was used for the area around the sun, followed by cadmium yellow medium, vermilion, permanent alizarin and ultramarine blue with the addition of alizarin at the top. Starting from the most distant land mass using horizontal brush strokes and using a tint (with the addition of white) of brilliant violet plus some cobalt blue. As progressively as I advanced into the middle hills, I increased the amount of permanent alizarin, ultramarine blue and dioxazine purple. To the darkest part at the front I also added burnt umber with ultramarine blue. The next step was to start adding more detail and form to the sky and landscape. This time I wanted to apply a very thick layer of pigment and to do so I started adding pure color directly from the tube onto the canvas and mix the colors on the canvas itself. I also decreased the size of the flat taklon brush to 1 inch. The sun was painted using white and cadmium yellow light. In the same order of colors as used for the underpainting I started to add more pigment and moving the pigments into each other using the sides of the flat brush. I also started adding the next darker color into the lighter one to create the impression of clouds and shadows in the sky. Since the darkest upper part of the sky seemed to look like a dark cloud, I added brilliant magenta to underside of the cloud or the area where the sun hits.  I space in the cloud was opened to give the impression of broken clouds, by painting the sky with a mixture of Pthalo blue and white. Lucky accidental brush strokes that gave the impression of clouds or the broken sun itself, played a significant role in the development of this sky.  Mid- and fore-ground The next step was to start adding more detail to the land starting from just below where the sun is. Along the horizon line I started by adding cadmium orange followed by alizarin and magenta, especially to the central part underneath the sun. The glow on the ground of the two fields in the middle ground (on the right) was painted with Naples yellow with touch of olive green. White was added to the more distant one. The trees in shadow were painted using Payne's grey plus some cobalt blue to the distant ones or else with the addition of some Pthalo green to the closer ones. Using a painting knife I painted the grass on the closest hill using a mixture of ultramarine blue, cadmium yellow medium, alizarin and red gold. Burnt sienna and burnt umber were also used for the ground at the front. Finally I painted the sheep, blocking them with purple and highlighting them with Naples yellow, titanium white, alizarin and a touch of cadmium yellow/cadmium orange. I find sunsets very inspirational due to their colors and drama, especially if the sky is cloudy. I named this painting "The end of another day", because I find that the time when the sun sets behind the horizon is also a time of reflection. When the sun sets marks the end of another day, meaning another day less from our journey of life on this planet. It is a time to think about the importance of time, since very day, minute and second that passes we cannot get it back. So it is very important that we use every second of our life wisely.

Last Lights on Tumut Valley

Step 1 This is one of the most recent paintings showing Tumut Valley in NSW. What attracted me to paint this scenery was the game of warm light and shadows through the whole view. The linen board was primed for oil painting and underpainted with a tint ultramarine blue and burnt umber. Materials used: 60 x 30cm linen board Brushes: Long Flat brushes 12, 10, 8, 4, 2 liners (0, 00), Very long filberts (2, 6) (Art Spectrum Series 1100KLF) Odourless mineral spirit +  Liquol (Art Spectrum) Color palette: Titanium and zinc white, French Ultramarine Blue, permanent alizarin, viridian, sap green, burnt sienna, raw sienna, , raw umber, Flinders red violet, Australian red gold (Art Spectrum), Cobalt blue deep, yellow ochre (Norma Professional), Van Dyke brown, ultramarine rose, cadmium yellow light, medium, deep (Masterclass), cadmium orange (Old Holland) and lemon yellow (Michael Harding)

Under-painting (Blocking in) I wanted to start off this painting over a very dark underpainting, so using a number 12 flat brush I blocked in the sky with a mixture of Flinders red violet and French ultramarine blue. Cobalt blue was used to block in the background mountains, adding permanent alizarin and a touch of yellow ochre to the closer mountains. The middle ground including trees was blocked in with a mixture of French ultramarine blue, permanent alizarin and yellow ochre. The foreground is the darkest part and so I used  a mix of French ultramarine blue and Van Dyke Brown for the ground and Van Dyke Brown with viridian for the trees. Step 2 The next step was to start giving more form to the relatively abstract underpainting. Using number 10 and 8 flat brushes I started adding more clouds using titanium white mixed with touches of permanent alizarin, lemon yellow and yellow ochre. Dark areas in the clouds were darkened with ultramarine blue, alizarin and raw umber. I gave importance to create contrast between the darkest and brightest parts of the clouds using complementary colors. The distant sky was lightened up using a tint of cerulean blue with lemon yellow added to the left hand side of the painting, the side from where light is coming. The mountains were given more shape by darkening the shadows. The highlights in shadows were painted using a tinted underpaint. The areas lit by the sun on the mountain were painted with a tint of lemon yellow and a touch of permanent alizarin + yellow ochre. Finished painting Mid- and fore-ground A mixture of ultramaine blue and yellow ochre was used to paint most of the ground and trees in the middle-ground. The ground is darker and cooler (with the addition of more ultramarine blue) as you move to the right of the painting since light is coming from the left. Parts of the underpaint was not painted over to give the illusion of shadows, that at that time of the day are very long. The mixture was tinted slightly as one moves into distance. The areas that are hit directly by sunlight where highlighted with the addition of yellow ochre and some lemon yellow in the mid ground. The trees were painted with darker shade of the same color used for the ground. For the foreground used the same base color of ultramarine blue and yellow ochre with the addition of a warmer yellow for the highlights. I used different mixtures cadmium yellow deep, medium and light or/and Australian red gold with sap green, sap green and burnt sienna or permanent alizarin. The details were added gradually over a number of days, thus allowing the previous layer to dry. For most of my painting I used liquol which dries very quickly but for the final highlights and details, paints were used without the addition of any medium. During each session I continued to enforce the dark shadows and adjusting the saturation, hues and values of the highlights.

Painting Blue Mountains

I did this painting from a photo taken at a location in Blue Mountains.

Colours used:

Cerulean Blue, Cobalt blue, Ultramarine Blue, lemon yellow, cad yellow light, yellow ochre, burnt sienna, burnt umber, rose madder genuine, alizarin crimson, titanium/zinc white, vermilion, viridian, Australian red gold.

I started with the underpainting, where I used pure gum turps to dilute the paints.

I mixed first grey by mixing equal amounts of cobalt blue and white, rose madder and touch of lemon yellow. From the darker colour I also mixed two tints. 

Using a mixture of burnt umber and ultramarine blue I blocked in the rock on the left while the front grasses on the right and foliage were blocked using a dark mix of burnt sienna and viridian. 

Another grey (ultramarine blue with some white, vermilion and touch of yellow ochre) was used for the tree trunks. 

I then blocked in the background using the first grey starting from the darkest color and using the lighter tints for the more distant cliffs.

The sky was done using various combinations of lemon yellow with white to the areas from where light is coming and a mixture of cerulean blue and touch of alizarin to the left hand side area.

I left the painting to dry a little bit for around an hour, since I used turps the paints will dry quickly and becomes tacky. 

The I started from the back adding details and highlights. I used a mix of white with lemon yellow and madder, from which I prepared two tints. The lightest tint was used for the background grasses on the top of the cliffs, getting darker as I move forward.

Using a palette knife  and the same colours I added the trees in the background on the side of the cliffs. The distant trees where blended using a mop brush to soften the edges. 

Using the darkest background colour, and by adding some white to it, with a horizontal brushstroke I added the cliff faces in the shadowy area of the closest cliffs.

The other cliffs were added using a mixture of white and rose madder.

Highlights and more details to front trees were added using cad yellow light/viridian and for the foliage shadow burnt sienna/viridian with alizarin.

Highlights on teh front tree trunks where added using a mix of white with cad orange.

The lighter part of the rocks were added using various mixtures of yellow ochre, alizarin, ultramarine blue and burnt sienna.

Fingal Bay - the finished painting

Fingal Bay - NSW

In my last post I showed how I did the underpainting of this artwork using acrylics, on location. Using acrylics while on location has its own advantages and disadvantages. An advantage is that you can easily carry the painting with you while travelling because it dries quickly and so you can place it anywhere you like. On the other hand, if working in very warm conditions, excessive fast drying can be a disadvantage during the painting process itself.

So back to the studio I decided to finish this painting in oils. You can always work with oils over acrylics but not the other way round. I started from the sky, using cerulean blue and white with a  touch of alizarin crimson and raw sienna to the distant sky. I darkened the sky as I moved forward adding cobalt blue and alizarin to the right hand side corner and white and a touch of viridian to the left hand side corner from where the light is coming.

The distant land on the left was blocked with cerulean blue and highlights with raw sienna and white. The middle ground was blocked with cobalt and alizarin while the closest and mass on the right was blocked with ultramarine blue and alizarin with touch of yellow ochre to gray it. 

For the distant water I used ultramarine and phthalo blue and phthalo green, adding yellow and Australian red gold to the shallow water on the front. The detailes of the tress where painted using ultramarine blue mixed with yellow and a mixture of burnt sienna, viridian and Australian red gold. I added two sailing boats to the distance to cut the horizontal shoreline of Sharks Island in the distance. The wet sand on the fron was painted with yellow ochre mixed with burnt sienna and cerulean blue.

'Plein Air' painting at Fingal Bay NSW

Above: Fingal Bay NSW

Above: under-painting done on location

Last Sunday was an excellent day to go to the beach and since for the last couple of days I was at Port Stephens, then I headed to Fingal Bay. It was early morning but the day was already hot and so I sat down and prepared my painting kit at a location overlooking the beach at Fingal Bay.

After choosing the scenery I started my underpainting using acrylic paints. Using cobalt blue I drew a very rough sketch consisting of the main shapes in the painting. Then I started putting layers of thin paint while adding more details. Cerulean blue and titanium white were used for the distant part of the sky while cobalt blue was added to the upper part and corners. Titanium white with a touch of alizarin red and raw sienna was used for the cirrus clouds. A mix of titanium white, cobalt blue and touch of raw sienna was used to block the most distant land mass, adding some more blue and alizarin crimson to the mid land mass (Shark Island). The closest land mass was blocked with ultramarine blue, vermilion and yellow ochre. A mix of alizarin and ultramarine blue was used as an underpaint to the sand.

The water was painted using ultramarine blue and touch of raw sienna with white at the background adding more blue to the middle water together with turquoise. More yellow ochre was added to the shallow water closer to the shoreline. The sand was painted using white and yellow ochre plus a touch of burnt sienna.

In the sun the acrylics were drying up in a matter of seconds and so I immediately started adding some more details and highlights to the distant land. The highlights were done by adding white to the base color and then adding naples yellow and touch of orange to the sunlit areas. The vegetation at the closest land mass was done using ultramarine blue, cadmium yellow and red gold. I briefly sketched in three sea gulls that at that time landed on the beach. However the day became too hot and so almost impossible to paint with acrylics. So I decided that I will take the sketch back to the studio to finish it.  I will post the finished work very soon.