Winter 2011 - Rocks

Winter 2011 Acrylic Class – Demo Rocks

Torrance class – we did the poppy very similar to what I did at PV the only difference is the background is darker and made to look more like out of focus foliage. We will finish it up next week.

All classes we only have 2 more weeks of class and classes will start up again at the end of the month. Registration is now open at Torrance and pending at PV if you want to get signed up for any classes it is best to do it ASAP especially at Torrance where they close under enrolled classes the week before classes start.

The thing to keep in mind about most rocks is they are rough plus they have chips, dents, ridges and cracks. They also are not a solid color. While these rocks look gray at first glance if you look closer you will see all kinds of color in them. There are blues and greens, purples and reds, yellow, orange and sienna are also there so get those colors in you under painting.

I started out just drawing a simple outline of the area where the rocks were going to be with my vine charcoal, I wasn't worried about individual rocks at this point. Under painting for rocks should be fun and relaxing because all you need to go is get the canvas covered in a medium dark color, what color doesn't really matter, the stroke doesn't matter, neatness doesn't matter - so be loose and free, you can even use a knife if you want to, just get the canvas covered. I was using my #12 bristle flat brush.

Once my rocks were under painted I let them dry before drawing in the individual rocks. While it is helpful to follow what is in a photo or in real life, it isn't necessary for it to be exact. No one is going to look at your painting and say "Shouldn't that rock be bigger?" or "What happened to the little rock that was supposed to be here?" IF they do, that's their problem not yours, you are the artist and have a license to do what ever you want on your canvas.

The rest of what we are going to do, for the most part, will be dry brush. I cannot overstate this enough because I as I walk around the class I still see people struggling with the concept. Dry brush means exactly that: The brush itself needs to be very dry so after you have cleaned or rinsed your brush take a paper towel and squeeze out as much water as you can, it should feel only slightly damp. When you load your brush you work the color into the bristles then either scrape the excess off on your palette and/or wipe it off slightly on your paper towel. There isn't a lot of paint on the outside of your brush at this point, this is good.

Next point that seems to be a problem is the amount of pressure you put on your brush. The goal is to be able to see what is under the paint you are applying so your pressure should be very light especially to start out with because there is usually more paint than you realize on your brush. As you use up what is on the outside of the brush, you can press a bit harder to get to the paint that is in the bristles but sneak up on it. There have been times where I have been holding the brush so lightly in my hand that I dropped it! It is important to learn this technique because it is how we blend our colors in acrylics. There is no point of doing an under painting if you are going to cover it all up with the next layer of paint, that under painting is important because it can help show texture and depth but if you cover it all up, you painting will look flat and uninteresting.

At this point the reference photo is your best teacher because it could take several layers of dry brush to get the rocks exactly as you want them, each layer building on the previous one. I will give you the basics of what I did but you will need to determine how you want your rocks to look. Study the photo before jumping in so you know where you are going.

My basic gray for the rocks was a bit different this time because I was using white (gesso), yellow and purple with a touch of blue. To that I picked up other colors as I went along because I could see greens and pinks, blues and oranges but my basic color was gray. Start our with a color that is a shade or two lighter that your under painting add more white if you want it lighter, more yellow, purple and blue to make it darker, be sure that you have a gray color not a purple color. Keep in mind that you don't want to jump right to the highlights you need at least one or two different values of color before you get to the highlights. I also switched to my #6 flat bristle brush.

On the shadowed sides of the rocks I added more blue or purple to my gray usually on my brush then blended on the canvas so I could see the color I added. However, I didn't use those colors exclusively in the shadows because I did pick up, greens, oranges and red as well. You should be using a scumbling stroke as you dry brush this will give you textures. If you want your color to be lighter add more white and less purple and blue. I just keep mixing in my original pile of color on my palette that way I know I'm getting the value I need.

When it comes down to the final highlights I used titanium white and a tiny touch of yellow to slightly tint the color and dry brushed this color in the light areas of the rocks: the tops and edges that might be catching light.

For the cast shadows I used my shadow color of blue, purple and a touch of sienna to make a dark color. I used this dark color to show the shadows cast by the rocks and the spaces between the rocks.

For the final highlights and shadow detail I switched to a #6 flat sable brush. This gave me a bit more control and allowed me to do some of the bigger detail, for smaller detail such as cracks in the rocks, I used my liner brush.

Next week I think we will learn how to add figures to our paintings and maybe some clouds, there won't be any reference photos though you might want to look for your own.