Spring 2016
Acrylic Class: Project – 3 Poppies
I am working
on a 12 x 24” canvas in the landscape position (horizontal), however, if you do
not have a 12 x 24 or cannot find one it is not necessary that you use one, it
is only an option.
Also, I had
toned my canvas before I started working on it using gesso, ultramarine blue
and burnt sienna, again not necessary but it will give you the opportunity to
practice using your blending brush to create soft out-of-focus patches of color
and also to learn to work quickly.
Looking at
the reference photo, I wanted to change the background to something better than
dirt, so I will be adding some sky to the top, the blue will go well with the
orange poppies because they are compliments, the sky will softly blend in with
some suggestions of some background flowers and bushes, this will be my
background and it needs to get in before we start working on the poppies
themselves.
First thing
you want to do is to have everything ready. Have all your paints out, and I do
mean all of them because you don’t know which ones you will need so have them
all out, and your gesso. Have your mister bottle handy plus have your soft
blending brush ready to go, and paper towels in hand, you need to work quick
because this is wet into wet painting and you don’t have the time to go looking
for something if you didn’t put it out.
Before I
started to paint, I lightly spritzed my canvas with my mister bottle so there
was a light coating of water on your canvas. This will help the paint go on
smoothly and will help keep it moist as you blend. Starting across the top
using a big bristle brush – I was using my #12 flat bristle brush, you use the
biggest one you have – I alternated between my gesso, the ultramarine blue,
touches of purple and even some touches of burnt sienna and quickly scrubbed
these colors across the top of my canvas to about a third of the way down where
I switched to sap green, yellow, gesso, touches of burnt sienna again scrubbing
and patting these colors on quickly. This green should be a soft grey green in
the background.
Do not waste
time on this step because your paint needs to be wet for this next step, if it
isn’t the blending will not work. Keep your mister handy. Using you blending
brush, be sure that it is very dry and clean, start up at the top of your
canvas and use long, very light, flat “x” strokes to blend the sky together. If
it feels like the brush is dragging too much LIGHTLY spritz your canvas with
water, then quickly blend in the water as you soften the sky across your
canvas. Then work down your canvas to the green area. Wipe your brush out and
gently blend the blue and green areas together, it should look soft and fuzzy
where they meet.
If you want
at this point you can add little spots or shapes of orange to SUGGEST poppies
in the background before you finish blending the green area. Remember all of
this is supposed to still be wet so don’t doddle be quick, don’t try to create the perfect
poppies in the background they are too far away and too out of focus to worry
about, then blend them along with the green so it all looks soft and out of
focus.
As you work
to the bottom of your canvas start adding darker colors like Hooker’s green,
blue, touches of purple and sienna to create a darker green. You can do this
with your bristle brush or the blending brush and just remember to softly blend
as you go.
If your paint
starts to feel sticky and isn’t blending like it should, lightly spray the area
but be sure that you blend all the water in or it will leave spots though in this
painting those spots may look like flowers so don’t worry too much about them
if you see them later.
Once this is
dry, you will need to assess your background. Acrylics always dry darker, as did
mine, so you may need to go in and do some adjusting of the color before you
add the poppies.
I took my #12
flat bristle again, use the largest brush you have it makes it go faster, and
on my palette I mixed some sap green, gesso, a little burnt sienna a little
yellow…I was looking for a soft, greyed, yellow green for the background that
was a bit lighter than what was there. I loaded my brush with this color, then
using the broad flat side of the brush almost parallel with the canvas, I
patted the color on then pushed up quickly working across my canvas. I also
added some more orange as I went to add more of a suggestion of flowers but as
they were blended in, the orange became a softer color. If some of the previous
color shows through that is okay, it becomes texture and shadows, don’t try to
cover it all up.
I was working
quickly so it was still a wet into wet technique and I also lightly blended the
top edges with my blending brush, just be sure it is clean and dry before using
it.
As you work
into the foreground (bottom of the canvas) again, add blue, Hooker’s, purple
and sienna to create a dark foreground using that patting and push motion. You
do not need to blend this area, you can leave some of the texture from your
brush strokes. Also you can add blots of orange to suggest other poppies, just
be sure you blend some of them in to soften the color and the shapes.
When this is
dry you can sketch your poppy design on your canvas be sure you are using
either soft vine charcoal or chalk to sketch with. Try to get you painting to
this point, keep painting and I will see you in class.
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