Spring Acrylic Class Week 7

Acrylic Class – Week 7: Borax Wagon

This week we start on some of the detail of our wagon, first we need to make sure that the wagon is bright enough especially in the sun-bleached areas of the wood planks, it should be very bright, if it isn't do some more dry brush with white and the tiniest amount of yellow, it will be mostly white (titanium or gesso). Remember to dry brush with the grain of the wood (horizontal).

Next, we put in the dark shadows under the wagon. Please do not worry about the streaks of light right now just the shadow, those streaks will come later. When you are doing large areas, remember to use a larger brush. I was using at least a #10 or 12 to get the area covered quickly and it will look less labored. If you need to, you can draw the back edge of the shadow so you know how far up to paint, Look at the photo and note that it comes up just below that structure under the wagon and that it is not straight. This shadow is going over uneven ground so it will follow the depressions and rises on the ground. Don't get out your rulers!

The shadow color is the one we have been using and is my standard shadow color: blue, purple and burnt sienna, keeping it to the cool (blue/purple) side but it should be a dark color and watch how much water you mix in, if you have too much water the paint won't cover well and you will have to go over the area again at least once, maybe more to get the look you need so keep the water to a minimum. Remember that there is water in your brush especially if you just rinsed it out.

With this dark color cover the whole area that is in shadow. Don't paint around where the wheel will be. Don't paint around the spokes or light streaks, just paint the whole area for now and you can use a scumbling stroke (every which way) to scrub this color in remembering to keep the back edge soft, smudge it with your finger if you have to, no hard lines.

While your shadow is drying, you can draw in where that iron bar that attaches to that wood beam that comes out from under the wagon (see photo). It isn't necessary to have an exact drawing just a curved line that attaches to the beam and please note that it is curved, not straight. Some people have trouble seeing it isn't straight, that would be the left brain kicking in. Also, if you want, while you are placing things in with the charcoal, you can draw in some of the other detail under the wagon.

This is one of the few times I will suggest a smaller brush and it can be either bristle or sable at least a ¼" wide, this is for the metal bar. With just burnt sienna on your brush, paint in the shape of the bar. Kinda dab the paint on rather than draw a smooth line. This is an old, rusted, hand-made iron bar that has seen much better days, the rougher the better. After you have the bar in, pick up some blue (ultra marine) on the end of your brush and just touch and dab it to the shadowed side of the bar. Rinse your brush and dry it well, then pick up some orange and do the same thing on the sunny side of the bar, these are quick simple strokes don't take a lot of time worrying this poor bar to death, just do it and it's done!

At this time you can also block in some of the things that are in shadow with your dark color. There are bolts and bars and blocks and…All in shadow, they are just shapes but they will make that area under the wagon more interesting.

We are finally getting to the wheel, so now is the time to use your charcoal or chalk and draw in where you think the wheel needs to be. You can start with the hub or the outside rim, just keep your reference handy so you can refer to it as you draw. Keep in mind that I didn't draw all the spokes in the drawing I provided, however, if you want it to look more like the real thing, you can put them in, it is up to you.

Even though it is hard to see, the wheel is slightly canted in so it isn't completely round. That is part of the reason you can see a lot of the inside rim on the right side but not on the left. This is called "foreshortening" and it is something you need to be aware of when you are drawing and painting. That said, after class I noticed that my wheel is really not the shape it should be, unfortunately because the next time will be our last, I will correct my painting but will explain what I did on the blog at a later time so we can get as much done before the end of class.

The outside wooden rim of the wheel is under painted much the same as we did for the wagon. Using that blue, purple, sienna mix, I added gesso (or white) to get a dark warm grey color. If your color is too cool (blue) you can add some sienna to warm it up. Again, if you have a brush that is about a ¼" wide, you can use that brush to paint in the parts of the wheel, it might make you feel more in control. There are also some part on the hub that can be under painted with this color so while you have it on your brush, you might as well get it in, just refer to your photo.

The spokes of the wagon are painted with what mud you may have on your brush and sienna with touches of red and orange. The inside area of the wheel rim starts out with this sienna/red color then becomes more orange. It doesn't need to be the final bright orange, this just gets the process started.

When you get to the hub, you will be using sienna, orange and red but it will work out better if you "brush mix". What this means is pick up one or two of the colors and mix them on the canvas. The center of the hub is made with wedges so start from the outside and pull your colors into the center. Once again I am not concerned with the lug nut in the center, that will come later, right now I just want to get a mottled sienna/orange/ red thing going in the center.

The bands around the hub are done much like the bar you did earlier, use sienna to base it in then pick up some blue and tap it in an uneven way. Your wheel should be based in and if everyone can get there on time on the 7^th we may be able to get this finished.

I also want to remind you to bring something in for critique on our last day. It can be something you have done at class or at home or any other medium you may be working with and you want some feed back. It can be your best work or a "problem child", critique is a good way to get a second opinion on your work.

Also, registration starts on Tuesday, so if you are a Torrance resident you can register for classes this week if you aren't a resident registrations starts the following Tuesday, June 1^st. See you soon and enjoy your holiday.