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.

Composition 3 - Oil Painting Landscape

Composition 3 - The Three Sisters

This is a painting I recently finished showing the iconic Three Sisters at the Blue Mountains. This is an oil on canvas board. I used 10oz cotton canvas on MDF board.

I am going to use this painting to go through the basic techniques of landscape painting. 

To start with, most landscape paintings have a background which usually includes the sky. The furthest mountains in this painting are part of the background. 

The midground refers to the closer mountains and the rock formations themselves.
The foreground at the bottom of the painting is the closest to the viewer.

To create the sense of distance and depth one has to use colour and also relationship of different objects to each other, i.e. the closer the subject is to you it looks bigger, more detailed and darker in colour.

Aerial perspective. When you look at a distant object like looking at mountains that are kilometers away, one tends to see them having a bluish colour. This is because there is atmosphere between the mountains and the viewer and this atmosphere is made up of gasses and humidity that scatters light coming from the sun while absorbing most colours leaving only blue to reach your eyes. So in a painting we need to create this effect. In the morning since there are more water droplets in the atmosphere the bluish colour seems to be stronger.

I started the painting with a rough sketch and underpaint using a wash of basic colours. I diluted the paints with odourless mineral spirit for fast drying.The underpainting was done using cobalt blue and titanium white for sky and background mountains, adding more alizarin crimson to the forground mountains and rock formations and dark burnt umber for the forground rocks.

Backround.
As a diluent for the rest of the painting I used a mix of 1:4 linseed oil with odourless mineral spirit.
After the first wash I left the painting to dry overnight. The next day the paint was almost completely dry.
Using a mix of titanium/zinc white I started from below the horizon line up into the sky. The distant sky has to be close to white. Cobalt blue was used for the upper part of the sky, darker at the corners and using a criss-cross brush stroke blended into the white of the distant sky creating a gradient.
The cloud was painted using a purplish shadow from cobalt blue and alizarin red. Using a 8 filbert brush I added the white highlights with a touch of burnt sienna, blending the colour into the shadow in a circular movement. Using a clean dry brush I softened the brush strokes using a diagonal brush stroke up into the right hand corner. The horizontal distant mountain at the horizon was done using a single brush stroke with cobalt blue onto the white underpaint. The lower part within the valley was left as white as possible to give the illusion of mist.
Midground
Using a mix of ultramarine blue + titanium white with a touch of alizarin I created the background mountain on the left hand side. Adding more blue and slightly more alizarin red I did the other mountain on the left hand side just behind the rock formations.
To the same mix I added slightly more ultra blue and more alizarin crimson creating a reddish purple. With this mix I painted the right hand side middle mountain.
The underpaint of the three sisters was painted using a mix of ultramarine blue + white + vermillion.
I started adding the details to the background mountains. The cliffs were painted with a mix of white with a touch of alizarin. I added a touch of very lemon yellow mix with white to the mountain behind the three sisters giving the hint of trees. The cliffs on the right handside mountain where painted with titanium white + alizarin + touch of burnt sienna (not completely mixed but left as marbled).
Using a mix of titanium white + raw sienna I started adding the grass and hint of trees to the right hand side mountain. The highlights were done by adding more white to the raw sienna. Using a filbert brush I added more trees from back to front, enhancing the brush stroke and leaving shadows from teh underpaint in between them. Using a liner brush and a mix of blue/white I added the tree trunks randomly throughout, increasing the size as I come forward.
The rock formations of the tree sisters were painted using a mix of white + alizarin + more burnt sienna partially mixed. I used a flat brush and a small painting knife to create the rock effect.
The trees around the three sisters were painted using a filbert brush loaded with a mix of titanium white + raw sienna + gray (made up of alizarin + ultramarine blue + touch of raw sienna) + very tiny spec of viridian green. Highlights were added randomly using a mix of white with Australian red gold (or if you want Indian yellow).
Foreground
Using a painting knife I sculptured the rock formation at the forground using a very dark mix of burnt umber, Payne's gray + burnt sienna. I partially mized these colours with titanium/zinc white and using the knife strokes in the direction the rocks are positioned. The shadow of the cliff edges was left with Payne's gray and burnt umber. I added a little bit of green colour (ultramarine blue and cadmium yellow medium) to the rock and also a touch of vermillion (red).
The bush was painted with the same mix of Payne's gray, burnt umber and viridian green. Highlights of the bush was painted with cadmium yellow medium, Australian red gold, white mix. I used pallette knife for most of the foreground including tree trunk of bush as it creates a really nice bold effect.

Hope you enjoy and that you found this information usefull.
Happy painting

Landscape Painting - Composition 1

It is very important that you find a subject to paint and you should direct all attention of the viewer towards your subject. The subject could be a house or a particular tree, or what ever you find interesting and want to show to your audience. You might be painting from photos or plein air, in both cases you should have something that attracted you to paint that particular scene and so you want it to be the subject of your painting.

Usually the subject is not placed at the centre of the painting  but somewhere in the lower quadrant on the right hand side of the painting (Fig 1). The human eye tends to travel more from left to right and you want to leed the viewer's eye into the picture and towards that subject.

As shown above, the canvas was divided into four quadrants and the subject was placed in the lower right hand side quadrant. However although this model is used quite often, this is not a rule. There are other ways of constructing a good composition. The most important is not to place the subject at the centre of your painting. The subject can also be anything or it could simply be an area of very bright light as in the image below.

To keep the viewer's eye in the picture and leading it to the subject it is important to place secondary objects pointing towards the subject. As in the painting above the path is leading towards that light and into the unknown. You can have branches, trees, a winding road etc to do this job. Never place objects facing out of the picture as this will distract the viewer's eye and will leed it out of the picture.

Aother issue to be considered is the viewpoint or whether you are looking at your subject at level or like you are looking at it from over the top of a hill (facing down). When looking from above you will see more objects into distance than if you are looking at level. So high viewpoint paintings will usually include less sky and more land, however it is challenging to demonstrate the effect of distance. If looking at level, then usually you will have more sky and objects at the back are partly or almost completely covered by those at the front.