Page 29 - The Decorative Painter Spring 2018

areas and more of the lighter greens, as well as less paint on the bristles. The dark green shows prominently against the previously painted background in the lower areas. Do you notice there are leaf clumps painted across the fronts of the branches and trunks? This provides dimension and should be spaced far enough apart not to form large mass- es. It is best to keep all leaves airy with plenty of sky holes with branches visual – no lollipop trees!
STAGE FOUR
STEP 1: The shadows under the trees are painted with a wash of Hauser Dark Green using the 1" flat brush. A wash is a mix of 8 parts water+2 parts color. This will be a very thin and transparent application. Test the mix on the pal- ette to see how dark it is. If it seems too dark, add more wa- ter. Start on the right side, moving along the horizon line, painting over the bottom of the “floating” trees to anchor ending on the left side. Repeat by reloading the brush and dragging just below the first application. A third applica- tion may be necessary to anchor and shade all the trees. NOTE: This means that the dark green wash goes over the top on the Raw Sienna area previously painted below the horizon line.
Do you notice how this wash emphasizes the shape of the hill line? Can you still see the under-painting showing through? This section has been painted correctly when all previous painted areas still remain visible. There is a large area glazed Hauser Dark Green indicated on pattern 2 on page 30. Dampen this area on your painting with clean water and the 1" flat brush. Using the same brush, wash the dark green over the background trees in this area to darken. This glaze will allow the leaves of the foreground trees more contrast against the background.
The next area to wash is the lower left corner with Blue Mist in the same way. TIP: Make sure to use clean water every time you change colors and clean the 1" flat brush as well. Again the blue should be very transparent. Dry both areas using a hair dryer on low heat.
STEP 2: Apply a wash of Raw Umber over the previous green and blue areas to darken and dull the colors. Us- ing the chisel edge of the 1" flat brush, drag a diagonal line across the ground starting below the large tree on the right ending on the right edge of the blue pond application. Paint several more diagonal shadows below the first, allow- ing plenty of ground between. Add several zig-zag shad- ows along the right edge of the blue pond in the same way. At the bottom of the ground section, paint several reverse angles to represent root shadows at the base of the fore- ground trees. NOTE: These shadows are painted before the foreground elements to develop form and dimension.
STEP 3: Look at the sky – is it blue enough? If not, re- dampen with clean water and apply a wash of Blue Mist starting at the top left corner working down to the top of the trees. Wipe the brush and remove any blue off the trees.
STAGE FIVE
THREE FOREGROUND TREES
STEP 1: Transfer on the foreground trees as shown on pattern 2 on page 30, using gray graphite and the stylus. Carefully fill each tree using the round brushes and Pale Yellow Mix. Let dry.
STEP 2: Using the round brushes, re-paint the tree on the right using thinned Raw Sienna, the middle tree thinned Raw Umber, and the tree on the left thinned Yellow Ochre. Look at the pattern to help you find the branches growing over and under each other. By using different color washes on each tree, their branches will become less complex, as well as create dimension.
STEP 3: Using the liner brushes, trace on the knot and root details on all three trees and paint over the lines with Raw Umber, following the edges of the trunk and branches. Now define the knotholes and outline where branches cross over each other the same way.
STAGE SIX
BARK
STEP 1: Using one side on the trident brush, load the bris- tles by dragging through the edge of the paint puddle, then drag vertically on the trunk to create textural bark. Start with the tree on the right with Raw Umber, here and there, moving up the center of the trunk. The large branches are painted the same way following each angle. If you find the side of the brush a bit too large for smaller branches, use a corner of the trident brush loaded the same way. Also paint around the knots to emphasize their shapes. Next use Burnt Sienna on the second side of the trident brush and repeat for added shading on the right side of the trunk and branches. Paint shading around knotholes and at the base of the tree to establish a strong shadow where the middle tree crosses over. Lastly, highlight using the third side of the trident brush and Yellow Ochre on the left sides to indicate light source. Wipe the paint out of the bristles using a clean paper towel. This is also useful if there is too much build-up in the bristles while painting. Remember, you want the bristles to separate!
STEP 2: Load a corner of the trident brush and shade the inside of the knots and form moss on the bark, here and there, using a light tapping application with Raw Umber. These will look like dark splotches, so be sure to leave plenty of space around them. Now add Hauser Medium
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The Decorative Painter • SPRING 2018 27