PREPARING THE CANVAS FOR PAINTING of WILLOW TREES
2/7/2022 1:07:13 PM
The toning and drawing of the subject onto the canvas, as outlined below, is my normal way of beginning a painting in the studio and when working en plein air. I rarely deviate from this process in developing my personal works.
Support: 14x18” Centurian linen panel.
1. The canvas was toned with a mixed orange, thinned slightly with Gamsol, then wiped off aggressively to a thin coat.
2. The subjects was drawn with a #2 bristle brush using a slightly thinned red/orange mixture. Lines wrongfully placed were wiped off aggressively and redrawn as needed until all shapes were correct and size relationships were in sync with one another. Only the outside line of each shape was indicated, no details.
3. The third step was creating a mix of mid-tone blue/grey adding a touch of red for a slight bias towards red violet. Each shape was then painted with this mix using a large round bristle brush on its side in a scumbling movement.
4. Next, with a lint free rag, I wiped back gently to eliminate excess paint. Next, I carefully drew the main tree trunks with a small brush dampened with Gamsol, followed by a dab with a paper towel to remove the wettened paint. Each trunk was carefully drawn with its shape, angle of tilt and space relationship to other trunks taken into consideration.
5. With my rag, wrapped around my finger, I wiped the paint back to create the value shapes of the area's most heavily defined in the trees with small limbs and twigs. It is not possible, nor desirable, to do any detail at this time. The wiping is simply to establish placement and, to prepare the paint layer for overpainting later.
6. In this step, I used the grey mix (#3 above) to darken all the other shadow/dark shapes and, wiped out for lighter value shapes, such as snow, to achieve their relative values.
7. The last step was to lay in a very thin layer of blue for the sky (mixed darker and duller than wanted for the final effect). This addition will peek through the lighter layer to come and give the sky a nice feeling of spatial depth.
I hope this is of help to you in your work. In my online painting classes I demonstrate weekly and show other options and techniques of painting. My students receive hours of high-quality instruction and in-depth personal feedback on their individual works weekly. See the Events & Workshop page on this website for details or, contact Sharon via email on the Contact page. You will be happy that you did.
