ACRYLIC FALL CLASS Project: Cool Refuge

I'm working on a 16x20 panel canvas and the only drawing that I did with soft vine charcoal was just the edges of the building walls and where it connects to the walkway. On the bright wall I used a mix of cad yellow, a touch of orange, even a little burnt sienna and I scumbled and scrubbed the color on. Scumbling means my brush was going in all directions, using all sides of the brush in a jumbled way, I want the texture in the walls because this is a stucco wall. This is just the underpainting for this wall we will put some brighter highlights on it later.

On the wall behind the chair we are going to under paint with a cooler version of the yellow wall. To get that color we're going to mix in the same area of the palette that we were just using with the yellow, orange, and sienna but to that we are going to add a little touch of purple and even a little touch of blue. When I say “little” I mean a very tiny amount especially the purple because it will dominate the lighter colors. Blues and purples are your natural shadow colors and if you are painting shadows you must include them in whatever color you are mixing this will give the color a cool look visually. Be careful when you add the blue and the purple because you don't want to add too much it will make it too dark, you just want a cooler version of yellow.

Again you are going to be scumbling this color on to the wall because you want to have a lot of brush strokes on these walls because they are stucco and old stucco at that so they've probably patched plus they weren't put on smoothly to begin with and that's what your brush strokes will do for you: Create that look of texture.

Once the lighter wall was dry, I sketched on the door and windows but I think it would have been easier for me and for you if I had waited until after this next step, if you are having trouble or you haven’t gotten this far yet you might want to mix the highlight color for the wall which is white or gesso with a touch of yellow and orange to tint it. Using the dry brush technique (no extra water in your brush an little paint also), scumble this color over the  sunny wall even where the door and windows are, you can draw them in after and not have to worry about painting around them.

The doorway on the sunny wall is made by using your yellow again plus a little purple and white, you want a light mauve color. Don't get this color too dark because it is in the background and you don't want to have a really dark spot back there in the middle of a light surface remember when things go into the distant they become softer and grey in color and value you can also use that color to base in the steps add just a touch of white with yellow for the top part of the step.

To under paint the walkway starting up near the door you will take your burnt sienna, orange, a little yellow and white and with horizontal strokes start scrubbing it in where the walkway will be. You want to be sure that your strokes are parallel with the top and bottom of your canvas so that the walkway looks flat. As you come down towards the side of your canvas start adding a little more orange and burnt sienna and then little touches of purple,

Note how the shadow falls over the texture of the bricks.

there is a shadow that the wall is casting down this walkway and it comes off at a bit of an angle, look at the photo, that's where you want to start adding those little bits of purple eventually you will be switching to burnt sienna, purple and blue with touches of almost any other color on your palate including white/gesso to create a dark underpainting for the walkway.

The border between the sunlit part of the walkway and the shadowed part of the walkway is not a hard, straight line. These are flagstones or cobblestones they have texture and elevation that shadow is going to be very irregular so please make sure that when you are in that area that you blend some of the light into the shadow and some of the shadow into the light to create a soft interesting edge. Look at the photo of the palm tree shadow I too as it goes across the uneven bricks. See how it falls over the edge making little scallops? Also notice how soft the edges are, there is little distinction divides the dark parts from the soft outer part of the shadows. The more you can see in the World you live in – and understand why – the better a painter you will become.

Once the door area is dry you can mix a red - either the cad red light or napthal red or the alizarin crimson - with a little touch of your ultramarine blue to create a dark burgundy color for the door and just put a sliver of that color where the door will be, it is recessed into the wall so it needs to be dark.

The windows were just a blue color, almost straight ultramarine blue with maybe a little touch of white. We're going to be doing more to everything but this just bases them in so you can see them. This should get you caught up to where we are in class look at all your angles check to make sure you have soft edges and we will start working from there you should have your whole canvas covered in paint at this point.

Keep painting and I will see you in class.