Fall 2019 Acrylic Class

Project: Alaskan Fishing Village Week 2

In our first class, we put our sky and distant mountains in then added the darker under painting for the trees and the grassy area near the water, in our last class we started adding detail to the trees and reflections in the water and the under painting for the buildings.

The first thing I did was suggest some detail in the trees behind the buildings. It is always good form to do the things that are behind other things first so you don't have to try and paint around the things that are in front.

I was using my #4 flat bristle brush, with a medium value green - Hooker's with a little yellow and orange to soften the green and occasionally some blue to change the color. The stroke I used was just like the one I used to create the trees in the first place but I did try and leave some of that darker green for the shadows. Study the reference photo before you start painting the trees and notice the light and dark areas. the light areas are where the ends of branches and the dark areas are deep inside the tree, so don't lose those dark areas and be sure that your branches look like they are coming out from around the trees and not just the sides like fish bones.

You can also start the reflections in the water at the same time but the technique is a bit different. When you do water it seems to work best if you pull your brush straight down when adding a color then lightly go straight across. 

I was using the Hooker's, ultramarine blue for the dark and touches of yellow and green for the lighter greens and blue and a little gesso (white) for the patch of sky but all of those color I pulled straight down then lightly across so you need to work fast to keep the paint wet to blend.

When the background was dry,I added my sketch.

Again, LOOK AT THE REFERENCE PHOTO. The brown building is at a slight angle away from you  so don't make it flat on to the viewer. Don't worry about absolute perfect lines, these are old building and I doubt there is a straight line in them, but perspective is important.

The red building isn't red yet. While that looks red it is actually napthol or cad red with burnt sienna in it. 

The brown/gray building is under painted with a warm gray. My basic gray color is ultramarine blue and burnt sienna with white to change the value. I wanted a warmer gray so there is more burnt sienna than blue.

The important factor in painting these buildings is to be aware of the direction there different parts are going. I keep repeating this because it is important: Look at your reference photo. The roofs are at a slant, follow that slant with your brush strokes. The front side of the brown building and the top part of the front of the building, the boards are horizontal, make your strokes horizontal. The lower part of the front of the building is vertical, make your strokes vertical. This is important because your eyes pick up on the slightest things so paying attention to direction is important.

This is where we left off and will pick up in our next class.

Keep painting.