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.

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.

How to make your own glass palette

Glass palette

During the last couple of years I tried several different kinds of palettes that are available on the markets starting from the traditional wooden ones to the most recent disposable ones. Depending on the situation and where I am painting all types of palettes have their own pros and cons. For example I find disposable palettes convenient because I do not need to clean my palette afterwards, but they are very inconvenient if I am painting in the wind. When I do not have a lot of space where to work and put things around me I usually use a big piece of perspex which fits exactly into my French easel and so I can leave the colors on it ready for the next session or even put in the freezer to be used couple of days after.

Recently I decided to start using a glass palette, that is big in size and that I can take with me when I go to workshops and painting outside. The size of the palette is approximately 55 x 35cm and it is simply made up of a piece of normal glass painting at the back in grey with acrylics. The grey color helps you to see the colors much better since it reduces reflections. From the local store I bought the wood and piano hinges I required to build the wooden case myself. I then fitted this piece of glass into a home-made wooden box which I can close and lock when it is not in use and during transport. When open I can place the whole box on the drawer of my French easel. The open lids serve as small side tables on which I can place my colors, mixing media and brushes. I also fitted a wooden brush holder on the side.

When ready I simply transfer all the brushes into my French easel, place colors in their box and clean the mixing surface with a clean tissue or cloth. Being made up of glass makes it very easy to clean. The advantage of a big palette is a larger mixing area as well as enough space to place your colors around. I always place my colors in the same order as they are on the color wheel, that is reds on my left, blues on my right and yellows in front of me.

For more information about this easel please do not hesitate to ask or contact me.

Oil painting - Near Warrenbungles

This is an oil on canvas I finished a week ago. The original photo was taken while on my way to Lightning Ridge and I was driving on a road crossing through the Warrenbungles National Park. 

The sky was painted using titanium white and raw sienna for the lower part and cerulean blue for the top and closer sky.

A mix of cobalt blue and permanent rose was used as an underpainting for the mountains (adding more titanium white to the distant mountain). The same mix was used to under-paint the mid-ground. Underpainting of the mid-ground trees was done using a darker mix by adding more cobalt blue and rose. The underpaint of the front three and ground was painted using a mix of ultramarine blue and burnt sienna.

Highlights on the mountain were done by adding white to the underpaint plus addition of lemon yellow for the side facing the sun. The same was done for the highlights on the trees to which I added raw sienna and cadmium orange.

The ground in the distance was painted using a flat brush and horizontal brush strokes with white, cadmium orange, lemon yellow and a touch of viridian.

As moving towards the foreground more viridian and yellow ochre were added for the ground. The grass at the front was painted witha painting knife using cadmium yellow, viridan and Australian red gold.

Highlights on the front tree were painted with cadmium yellow mixes with ultramarine blue and white. Details such as house and cows were added later on.

Misty Gum Trees

Original Photo

Misty Gums, Oil on Canvas, 45 x 90cm

This is a painting I did some time ago from a photo I took of gum trees on the Murray river banks. The photo is a little bit dull and boring and so I wanted to create a vibrant painting out of it. For the composition I only used the four main gum trees and the setup next to the river in order to create reflections in the water. 

When coming to decide the colour scheme of this painting I chose the majority of my colours from the warm side of the colour wheel starting from yellow to red. Then I used two complements, ultaramarine blue (for the shadows) and green. 

I started by creating a gradient of colours in the background. Using a two inch house painting brush and a vertical brush stroke I applied titanium white to the right hand side of the canvas. From white I went to yellow, using raw sienna which when mixed with white gives a very bright background yellow. The next colour was vermillion to burnt sienna on the sides. Using vertical brush strokes I blended the colours to create a gradient. 

Using a mixture of burnt sienna and ultramarine blue I blocked in the darkest trees, river bank and water reflections. For the water reflections I initially used a vertical brush stroke, followed by a horizontal one to create a water effect. 

The background trees were painted using a vertical brush stroke, bottom to top with various values of vermillion mixed with burnt sienna. White and raw sienna was used for highlights. The highlights on the front trees were added using a painting knife and mixes of white with Naples yellow and vermillion. Water ripples were also added using pallette knife and a mixture of white and ultramarine blue. Grass on the river bank was painted using cadmium yellow light and ultramarine. Same colour tinted with white was used for foliage, together with cadmium yellow light and cadmium red medium.

Waterfall painting

This painting shows one of the waterfalls found on one of the tracks in Blue Mountains. My favorite bush walks are those deep in the rainforests surrounded by ferns and where light seldom reaches. Waterfalls, creek and small rock pools continue to enhance the landscape. This is what inspires me most, the effect of light, water and water reflections.

This painting is an acrylic on canvas. I used a technique which is more impressionistic since it lacks the fine details of realism. I light source is coming from the right upper corner. I started by a simple wash of the main colours as an underpainting, using titanium white and Naples yellow for the lighting. Cerulean blue and white was used for the distant rock underpainting adding raw sienna to it to create tints of green for the vegetation. A mix of ultramarine blue, white and vermilion was used for the underpainting of the main rock for the waterfall, adding more blue and red to darken it as I moved closer to the front. Using the same colours plus burnt sienna and burnt umber I pained the foreground using horizontal brush strokes.

After drying I added more layers of paint to the light source and to the background rocks by mixing white with touches of alizarin red and burnt sienna to create the rocks. I added more details and colour to the vegetation by using a mixture of Naples yellow, cerulean blue and olive green for the mid-tones. I added highlights with increasing amounts of white and Naples yellow, using a dabbing stroke of a flat brush.

With dry brush I scrubbled the mist below the vegetation using a mixture of white and cobalt blue.

The vegetation on the left hand corner was painted using a mixture of greens darkened by its complementary colour alizarin red.

Then I started adding details to the rock. Using a pallette knife as well as brush I started adding mid-tones using a mixture of white, alizarin red and burnt sienna. The closer to the front of the painting the more burnt sienna was used. After drying I started adding highlights using white and naples yellow to the rock. I also prepared a wash of phtalo green with raw sienna and Naples yellow and with very soft touches I started adding some green colour to the rocks. Using the same wash that I used for the mist, I added some mist to the back part of the rock.

Using the same mixes of greens and burnt sienna I strted adding reflections to the ground, using horizontal brush strokes. The water was done using dry brushes with mixtures of white plus cobalt blue. Highlights with white and Naples yellow using a very small (0) round brush and intermittent brush strokes.

A wash of white and cobalt blue was used to give the impression of water on the ground. I then added different greens a mixture of yellows and red gold to add some vegetation to the rocks especially to the front part of the painting.

Happy New Year to everyone.

This is one of the many acrylic paintings that I did last month. It shows a view of Ormiston Gorge a very nice place to visit in central Australia. I was there in August 2012 and this particular place is one of my favorites. To the original photo I added the gum tree at the front. I love to paint gum trees especially those having white bark. 

I used a very loose and fast painting technique, bearing in mind that acrylic colours dry too quickly sometimes while still on the brush. I used cooler colours for the background, like alizarin red, cobalt blue, raw sienna with lots of white. Warmer and stronger colours were used for the front, including burnt sienna, vermillion, cad yellow medium and viridian. For the greenish colour of the pool I used olive green (or sap green).

Using Colours - mixing and characteristics

Placing colours on the pallette

When you decide which colours to use in the painting you are planning to do, you can place an amount from each colour from the tube onto the pallette. Always try to keep the same order of how you place the colours, usually using the order of the colour wheel. I usually place the colours in the order starting from reds on the left hand side, yellows and blues on the right hand side. I place White on the right hand side and browns just after the reds. Always place the colours on the upper part of the pallette and leave a lot of space for mixing colours.

Diluting colours

Most of the time we will need to dilute colours since they are usually too thick to use directly from the tube. You thin the colours by using one of the several media that are available. However for oil colours the most common diluents used are pure gum terpentine, odourless mineral spirits and refined linseed oil.

Since you want the underpainting to dry very quickly the best to use are odourless spirits or pure gum terpentine. I prefer the former due to lack of odour. You can dilute the paints either by dipping the brush in the mdium before picking the colours obviously adding amount of mineral spirit depending on what you want to achieve. The more diluent you add the thinner the paint and the more it dries quickly. This is good to do a wash for the underpainting. You can thin the colour especially white by adding drops of diluent onto it while mixing with painting knife until the paint has a consistency like a toothpaste.

For the next layer of paint I will dilute using a mix of 1:4 linseed oil with mineral spirit.

To decrease the drying time it is also wise to use liquin which decreases drying to almost 1/3 of the normal time.

In the case of acrylics usually you dilute with water or else one of the several media available that usually are used to increase drying time since acrylics dry very quickly especially in hot and dry conditions.

Drying Times

Different oil colours have different drying times. This is because oil colours do not dry by evaporation but by oxidation. Here are some examples:

Fast drying times (1 - 2 days) cobalt blue, Prussian blue, Raw sienna, umbers, Flake white

Medium drying times (5 days) permanent alizarin, cadmiums, ultramarine blue, ochres, burnt sienna, titanium white, zinc white

Long drying time (> 5 days) acrylamides, alizarin crimson, quinacridones

Use of colour in landscape painting

In order to create the illusion of distance as well as other characteristics such as time of the day or seasonal variations one has to know which colours to use in a landscape. As a general rule, very cool colours will recede in distance while warm colours appear to be at the foreground. However there are different blues, reds and yellows available that can in themselves be warm or cool. Here are some examples:

• Cobalt and cerulean blues are cool blues very good for skies and distant objects especially when mixed with white. Add crimson as you move closer (turning purple) and a touch of raw sienna to change it to grey.
• Ultramarine blue is a warmer blue and can be used for objects that are closer
• Alizarin crimson is a cool red and so it is ideal for backrounds, to darken mountains and other objects as they come closer and to create shadows in the clouds or purplish colours in the skies. When mixing will alizarin crimson be cautious as the colour is very intense and you will only need to use very small amounts
• Cad red, vermillion are warm reds with cadmiums being the warmer, so usually these are used for nearby objects
• Cadmium yellow or orange are warm while lemon yellow is a cool colour. For background yellows or greens one can use raw sienna which can look yellow especially when mixed with white
• Vermillion is a pure and very intense green but rarely used on its own due to its strong and artificial looking colour. You can use touches of vermillion mixed with other colours such as raw sienna to give a green tint.
• Burnt umber can be used for foreground and the same for burnt sienna. Burnt umber creates an interesting green when mixed with veridian
• Always try to darken a colour by using the opposite colour (complementary) on the colour wheel.
• Indian yellow or Australian red gold forms a bright yellow (golden) when mixed with white.

Painting Tools & Equipment

Canvas

You can paint on any type of surface as support such as paper, wood panels, metal etc. For oil painting the most commonly used is canvas, either stretched or unstretched. You can buy canvas either in roll or ready stretched, however buying a roll will turn out to be a cheaper alternative. You can buy this canvas either already primed or unprimed. The primer acts as a base for the oil (or acrylic) paint to adhere to without cracking, peeling, wrinkling or shrinking. The most commonly used primer is gesso and it can be applied either as a single layer or double layer.

​

​There are different types of canvas of which cotton is the most commonly used. The other type is linen that is very expensive. It is important to use good quality canvas and this usually has to be of a minimum of 10 oz and 12 oz for bigger paintings. Ready made canvases found in stores are barely 8 oz and even less. If you buy canvas by roll you can have a better quality canvas with the same price that you buy a similar size but of an inferior one from a store. 

Brushes, Knives and Palettes

For oil and acrylic painting it is very important that you buy good quality brushes. Inferior brushes will start losing hair while painting and it is really annoying to stop every minute to remove hair from the surface of your painting. Do not buy synthetic ones but only buy those having natural hair such as hogs hair. Brushes come in various shapes and sizes. You must have a selection of round, flat, filbert, fan and liners (for fine and delicate work). You must also have a selection of sizes usually numbered from 0 to 12 (12 being the largest). Different brushes are used for various techniques. A good brush must maintain its shape when being used. You must also have a 2 inches brush for background colouring (and underpainting), that you can buy from an ironmonger (also used for house painting). The most important is to clean the brushes while using them and after you finish as if you do not do so then you will end up wasting money. While painting you have to clean the brush before picking up colour and this is done using tissues. Do not clean the brush with turpentine while painting unless you are going to go from a dark colour to a lighter colour. When you finish first remove excess colours using a tissue and then clean the brush in mineral solvent followed by rinsing it in water with a dishwashing detergent. Do not throw away old brushes as you might find them useful to create different effects.

​

Painting knives are used to mix paints on the palette as well as to paint, usually very useful to lay thick layers of paint onto the canvas and to create structures like tree trunks and rocks. You can also use them to create fine but straight lines, snowy mountain peaks or to create small waves or ripples on a water surface. Same as brushes, painting knives come in different sizes and shapes. Always clean your knife before picking up colour from the palette.

Use a flat palette for oils and acrylics as it will be very difficult to pick up paint from palettes used for watercolour. You can have a wooden or a perspex palette, or even simply a disposable plate. Alternatively you can use a tear off palette, which is very useful and you do not need to clean it afterwards.

Paints and diluents

Always use artist quality paints for both oils and acrylics. Artist quality paints have more pigments rather then binders. Artist quality paints do not fade away when mixing and also they will last longer. Artist quality oil and acrylics are usually heavy bodied and thus easier to paint using painting knives.

When painting with acrylics, paints are usually diluted to a creamy consistency with water. To increase drying time you can use one of the many retarders that are commercially available.​

Turpentine is usually used to dilute oil paints for underpainting to decrease drying time. Try to use odour free turpentine especially when working indoors. Oil colours can be diluted with linseed oil for upper layers of a painting, thus increasing drying time. Poppy oil is another diluent that can be used to dilute oil paints. The more oil you add the more you increase the drying time. The consistency of the paint should be creamy and should be in a way that the paint is easily released from the brush onto the previous layer. Liquin is another excellent medium that decrease the drying time of oils and is very good for glazes.

​

Varnishes

Varnishes are used to protect the painting and colours from deteriorating with time besides making it easier to clean. There are two types, matt and gloss. Matt varnish do not reflect light and hence will give a uniformity to the painting, since oil paints have different glare when dry.

Allow the painting to dry well ideally about 6 months. You can apply varnish either using a brush or using aerosol spray. To apply the varnish lay the painting horizontal on a clean surface (dust free) and apply onto the surface in a uniform manner. Apply in a well ventilated place or outside, and beware of any flying insects that can rest on it accidentally. Matt varnish can sometimes form a cloudy appearance after drying sometimes affected by humidity.

​

​