I picked these on my usual dog walk in order to paint. The first job is to decide how to arrange them. I chose to leave out the jug, and some of the berries. I wanted it to appear as if it were outside, where I had first seen them. I sketched a few different ways and decided on a close view. STEP ONE: Lightly pencil in where things are - no details, no shading. All you need is to know where things are. I have used masking fluid on the Elderberries as they will get lost otherwise. You don`t need to do this - it`s a personal choice. STEP TWO: Mix up a very pale clean wash. I have used yellow ochre on the lower half and cerulean on the top half and blended them in. I have used a big brush and washed across the whole painting, apart from the apples, which I want to be very pale. I have laid a piece of white paper on the painting to show the difference. This helps give the painting some depth and suggests there is something `behind` the plants. STEP THREE: With watercolour, you paint the lightest colours first. I began with a lemony yellow on the apples, leaving a white highlight to help give the 3D effect. I let the yellow pool in the side furthest from the highlight to accentuate this. Then I used a pale warmer yellow on the leaves (see the right side of the first photo) and also suggested some leaves behind with dabs of yellow.
STEP FOUR: I usually mix my own greens. I began with a yellowy mix of Gamboge Yellow and Cobalt Blue to paint the big leaves on the apple branches. I then added some more blue and dropped it in to give a suggestion of veins and shadows on these leaves. (See centre photo). Then more water and blue to give shadowy `leaves` in the distance. STEP FIVE. The leaves on the rose hips and the Hawthorn were different greens so I mixed one from gamboge and ultramarine, and another from viridian and burnt sienna for those, and painted them in the same method, dropping some suggestions of leaves behind. The next job is to leave to dry - I`ll complete this next week. Please feel free to try this in your own style. I would love to see the results!
1 Comment
Jackie Tanaka
9/22/2016 06:21:55 pm
I love your detail instructions. It is like I'm right there watching you painting. Thank you. Jackie
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AuthorI`m Claire; an old-style community artist who believes that everyone`s got a tale to tell and a picture to paint. Archives
July 2018
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