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. 

Fire and Water - Abstract painting

Acrylic colors used (Atelier and Matisse): 

Alizarin red, cadmium red medium, phtalo blue, ultramarine blue, Naple's yellow, cadmium yellow medium, titanium white 

Brushes:

A normal 2 inch house painting brush, brushes used to apply gesso, a painting knife

Methodology:

This was a very simple abstract I did recently on stretched canvas. I started by placing directly on the canvas ultramarine blue, alizarin and Naple's yellow. Using a 3 different brushes (one for each color) I started spreading the three colors on the canvas mainly at three distinct areas, blue at the bottom right corner, red the upper left and yellow the central to upper right corner. Carefully I started blending the colors together to create the secondaries i.e. green, purple and orange, leaving some areas of pure primary color. I left the colors to dry for couple of minutes  and then I started applying cad red, cad yellow and phtalo blue onto the previous layer using bold brush strokes and applying circling motion depending on how I was seeing the colors developing. I left untouched brush strokes that looked good to the eye or any secondary or tertiary colours that appeared by co-incidence. 

To finish off the painting I took a piece of tissue and placed it in titanium white and I applied it to some areas as a highlight. Using a painting knife I mixed blue, yellow and white and  I applied vertical strokes to the right bottom corner to look like reflections of color.

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

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.

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​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.

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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.

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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.

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