Page 50 - The Decorative Painter Winter 2014

Acrylic
LET’S PAINT
SKY
Starting at the tree line and moving upward approxi- mately 1⁄2" (1.3cm), lay down a coat of Gesso. While the Gesso is wet, basecoat the horizon from edge to edge us- ing Pumpkin+tch Bright Yellow. Wipe the brush. While the basecoat is wet, continue to move the horizon upward with Pumpkin+Bright Yellow. Blend the two areas together. While wet, pick up Gesso on a clean brush and blend into the yellow to soften and add white to the sky as it moves into the cloud area.
Starting at the top of the sky, on a clean brush, pick up Ultramarine Blue+tch Gesso. Keeping the blue to the top, basecoat the upper sky from the top down. As you move down, pick up more Gesso so that the color moves from a medium blue to a light blue.
CLOuDS: Basecoat the cloud area with Purple Pizzazz. While wet, begin blending into the area between the blue sky and the yellow/orange horizon. Add Gesso to vary the tones. Do not go into the horizon area or into the blue sky area. Details of the clouds will be added later.
TREE LINE
Again, lay down a coat of Gesso. You will be working wet-into-wet.
BACKGROunD TREES: Mix Ultramarine Blue+Bright Yellow+Purple Pizzazz+Gesso (2:1:tch:tch) to achieve a dull light blue. Add more Gesso, if necessary, to achieve the color you desire. Using the brush you are most com- fortable with, base in the small background trees along the tree line. Make sure to vary the height of the trees (see the photo of the project on page 46).
SECOnD LAyER OF FOLIAGE: Mix Black Green+Bright Yellow+Purple Pizzazz+Gesso (2:1:tch:tch) to create a dull green. Using the brush you are most comfortable with, paint in slightly taller pine trees along the tree line. Make sure to leave areas showing the first set of background trees and a great deal of blue sky. Vary the height of the trees. FORWARD TREES: Mix Black Green+Ultramarine Blue. Using the brush you are most comfortable with, basecoat the pine trees in the foreground of the horizon line. Notice that these trees are taller on the outside edges, and smaller and less formed toward the center. Highlight the right sides of these trees using the basecoat mix, plus Bright Yel- low. Increase the amount of Bright Yellow added to the mix to vary the highlight. Add a little Gesso to the mix to add additional highlights to some of the larger trees.
WATERFALL
Before beginning, review the photo of the completed project on page 46. Note that the brushstrokes move from the left and then straight down. Lay down a coat of Gesso over the area you are working. If your brush begins to drag, apply another layer. Using the bristle fan with Ultra- marine Blue+Lamp Black thinned to an inky consistency with water, start at the top left, move horizontally, then move straight down to create the darker background of the waterfall. Tip: Make sure that you have enough paint on the brush to cover from the top to the bottom in one stroke. Press the brush down to separate the bristles before beginning the stroke.
Add Ultramarine Blue and Gesso to the mix to cre- ate varying values in the waterfall. Add touches of Bright Yellow, Whispering Turquoise, and streaks of Gesso. The splash of the water and the river will be added at the end.
As you paint the waterfall, continue the water on the bottom with the colors you use in the actual waterfall. Note that the areas to the left and right will be darker. Do not paint the river water above the line in the pattern. De- tails to the bottom of the falls and river will be added later.
ROCKS AND BOULDERS
The rocks and boulders are primarily a frame for the waterfall. Very little of this will be seen in the completed project. Before beginning, lay down a layer of Gesso. While the Gesso is wet, use a 1" flat (or angle, if you prefer) to tri- ple-load the brush by placing the entire edge of the bristles in Burnt Umber+tch Gesso, then dipping the heel of the brush in Lamp Black and the toe in Gesso. Stroke in lay- ers of rock. Highlight the tops of some of the bolder rocks with Gesso. Don’t forget to include the small line of rocks just below the horizon trees. See the photo of the finished piece on page 46.
PINE TREES AND BUSHES
The light source is from the top middle and right, so the darkest side will be on the left. Note that the pine tree on the right will have highlights on the left, due to the re- flections from the water.
BACKGROunD TREES: Using a small scruffy brush with Gesso+Ultramarine Blue+Burnt Umber (1:tch:tch), rough in the background trees. Shade with Black Green+tch Lamp Black. Highlight with Black Green+tch Bright Yellow. PInE TREES: Use a bristle fan with Black Green+tch Lamp Black to paint the pine trees. Add details with
48 The Decorative Painter • ISSUE NO. 4, 2014
decorativepainters.org