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Skies and Clouds Demo Week 1
In our last class we practiced making skies then adding clouds after the sky was dry - wet on dry - as backgrounds for landscape paintings.
The first study we did was a plain blue sky, yet it isn't. Skies are always darker higher up then closer to the surface because you are looking through less atmosphere when you look up.
One way to get that gradation of color from dark to light is to first cover your sky area with a thin layer of gesso, we will be blending into the gesso so don't let it dry.
Next pick up your blue (I used ultramarine) with the tiniest amount of purple or a little crimson and just streak this across the top of you canvas. go back with your brush using long crisscross strokes and start blending down starting at the top and working your way down the canvas. Because you have gesso on the canvas your sky should get lighter as you blend down. If you need more blue, rinse your brush, pick up more of the colors then start back up at the top and work down. If it is too dark at the bottom, flip it over and add gesso starting at what is not the top and work it into the blue to get a gradation.
At this point you are working wet into wet so you need to work quickly. Also learn to lighten the pressure of your brush ans you work down, it help when doing a gradation. If you want a smother sky, you can switch to your blending brush and very lightly soften out the brush marks again starting in the dark to the light.
When you have gotten this as best as you can (this does require practice), let it dry.
When the sky was dry we added distant mountains and clouds, both were done with the same gray mixture so make enough so you don't have to keep mixing.
The gray mix is my workhorse mix or ultramarine blue and burnt sienna with gesso to change the value (lighten). You might want to burn this combo into your brain because you will use it a lot. You want a cool gray so that means more blue than sienna.
I started with a medium light gray and added gesso to lighten or more blue and sienna to darken. With my bristle brush, I used the very end of my brush and the whole edge not a corner, and I pulled down to make the top edge of the mountains. In the body of the mountains I tried to create interesting brush marks to suggest the ruggedness of the mountains. They are in the distance so detail only needs to be suggested.
The clouds I used a smaller #4 flat bristle brush because this technique will eat up a sable brush quickly because we will be doing the dry brush technique.
Starting with a darker gray and little paint on the brush, I used the corner or side of my brush to make a series of circular strokes to shape my clouds. As I worked on the clouds, I picked up touches of gesso on my brush to lighten the top edges of the clouds to suggest that sunlight is hitting them. Again, be aware that the pressure you put on your brush with have an effect on your clouds. In the inside of your clouds, pressure doesn't matter as much but when you get to the outside edges, lighten the pressure to get soft, fluffy edges. You don't want your clouds to look like a bunch of floating rocks, this isn't Pandora. Also with you are adding gesso to lighten areas lighten the pressure. This is very important.
The second example is done very similar to the first but this time we added other colors.
Start by covering the canvas with gesso, then start with the lighter colors of yellow and red. It is easier if you turn your canvas over for this part. Lightly blend the colors together but don't doddle, you still need to get the blue on there.
Turn the canvas right side up and add the blue just like you did in the previous study and blend down to the lighter colors. You can use a bristle or sable brush for this to get a more "painterly" sky or switch to the blender brush, just be sure that the brush you use is clean and dry before starting to blend.
Starting in the light area, using very light pressure on your brush, use long crisscross strokes and work your way up into the blue area. Pressure and long strokes are the key here. Wipe out your brush to get most of the paint off, if you need to blend again, start in the light area and work up. You can work the blue down a little just be careful of getting too much blue in the yellow or you will have green skies.
The clouds were done the exact same way as the previous study though this time I added some color. (Don't worry about the palm trees, that's and easy fix.)
It is better to have reference photos to look at when you are doing clouds, like everything else, having something to look at telly you what you need to do.
Don't lose these or paint them out we will be adding to them later.
Remember, I have been doing this for a long time and I make it look easy but it took me more than one attempt before I finally figured out how to get the sky and clouds I wanted. These little studies will help you learn without the pressure of feeling you are going to ruin your masterpiece straight out of the gate. You can always gesso over the studies and use the canvas again.
Keep painting and I will see you in class.
Background Demos
A painting starts with the first brush full of paint, and in acrylics especially, that is usually in the background. We can work from background to foreground in acrylics because the paint dries fast enough we can paint right over top of what we did previously, so having a good foundation for you painting by having an effective background is critical to the overall success of your painting.
As many of you found out, a good background isn't as easy as I make it look, so the more you practice the better off you will be down the line.
This first background I did can be done with any color combination you want or even going from light to dark in one color, this will be a wet into wet technique so you need to work quickly. This is a great background for portraits, flora paintings, still life and even landscapes.
I started by covering the canvas with a light coat of gesso, then in the center with yellow, next I picked up orange and went around the outside of the yellow using crisscross strokes to lightly blend the two colors, I'm not worried about brush strokes at this point. I did a similar thing with sienna then adding ultramarine blue to darken the edges. The key thing most of you missed was USING CRISSCROSS STROKES. Most were painting circles around each color nothing was blending and problems ensued..
Now you can leave it this way if you want a more "painterly" look to your painting or, while the paint is still wet, take your soft blending brush and with long gentle crisscross strokes gently blend from the light area to the dark. Your brush should be almost parallel to the canvas as you lightly skim across the surface. This takes practice. You need to get a feel for the brush and the pressure, if you are leaving marks you are touching down or leaving your canvas too hard.
This next one is making a background like you are looking up through the trees. Again I started with a coat of gesso and this is wet into wet.
I used both my greens (Hooker's and sap) making the suggestion of leaves adding sienna to suggest branches, and there is some orange and yellow just because.
I then went in with blue (I used both thalo at the top and ultramarine from middle to bottom) and filled in the spaces in between the leaves and branches.
Again, I took my soft blending brush and lightly blended all these colors together using crisscross strokes and as the late Bob Ross would say "3 hairs and some air" to lightly blend.
The next example was done the same way but this time I had a landscape in mind.
Finally, I did grasses again with the gesso first then I started with yellow and orange on a large flat sable brush, starting at the bottom and lifting as I went up I made strokes that suggest grass going over previous strokes with more strokes and different colors to congest and overlap like real grass does when it grows.
I think I used almost every color on my palette - yellow, orange, red, sienna, green and blue - and this is why you need to have something to put ALL your colors out on because you never know what you will need.
I want you to save the background studies because we will be using them later so if you need to try again, save your best ones for class.
Keep painting.
Acrylic Class Project: Dancing Boots Week 5
This was the final week for this project, so if you have finished you will need to have something else to paint for the rest of the semester or if you haven't finished you can continue to work on the project.
I do want you to know that what I am doing with the painting now is finishing up my project, you do not need to do everything I do if you like your painting as it is, at this point it is up to you ow you finish your own painting.
I added some of the dead flowers around the blooming flowers because I wanted to, I thought they added to the character of the cactus. I was using a round sable brush, burnt umber and blue for the under painting and burnt sienna and orange for the highlights.
I also used the round sable brush to clean up the tips of the flowers using yellow and white and for the centers I used crimson and white.
Remember last time I said I wasn't happy with the dirt around the boots? Well I added some lighter color with my #4 flat bristle brush using white, a touch of yellow and burnt sienna and dry brushing it around the boots and the boot shadows then blending it into the darker dirt by lightening the pressure on the brush to fade it out.
Next I used my tooth brush to splatter paint into the the dirt, keeping a wet paper towel handy if they went where I didn't want them. I used almost all the colors on my palette for the splatters, not just the browns. When the splatters were dry, I looked for some of the bigger splatters or made some of them bigger and touched the top with some white, the used some of the shadow color (blue,sienna and a touch of purple) and made little shadow coming off the back of some of these larger pebbles.I was using the small round sable again or you can use a liner brush.
I worked a bit more on the boots, putting in some of the seams and accent highlights. Be sure that if you add the seams that you don't make a straight line, the seams follow the bumps and dips that are in the boots, this is important.
Last but not least I gave the poor cactus some attitude by adding the thorns. I was using my liner brush and a mix of red (any red will work here) with a touch of burnt sienna and white. The thorns come out of those gray areas at the top of the ribs and you can't put too may in. Use this lighter color where you are working against a darker background...
...against the lighter background on the side of the cactus you use a darker mix (more red and sienna, no white). Remember that there will be thorns coming out of ribs you can't see as it goes around the cactus of from behind the boots. If your strokes over lap, that is a boot thing because the cactus needs a good defense. They are also longer than you think so don't make them too short.
I may work on this in class to clean up some things I think need work or to finish it a bit better but overall, this is basically done. Finish yours as you see fit and I will see you in class.
ADDENDUM:
I added some more detail and cleaned up a few edges as well as making the thorns look more intimidating. You can finish up your painting the way you want to, you don't need to d detail unless you want to, I just wanted to show you how I finished my painting to my needs as an artist.
I cleaned up the edges of the boots and added stitching to the seams. I also added a few more pebbles to the dirt.
I made the thorns look more like cactus thorns with the same colors and a small round brush and using the paint a bit thicker and being a bit more precise because I was going over what was already there.
I used the same brush to clean up the edges of my flowers as well.
This is my finished "Dancing Boots" painting.
Acrylic Project: Dancing Boots Weeks 3 & 4
As promised I will have 2 weeks worth of blogs here this time, now that things have settled down.
Week 3
We did a lot during week three as we get closer to finishing up our project.We got the soles of the boots in, added more texture to the dirt as well as adding shadows for the boots and cactus on the ground. We also fleshed out our cactus so now it has ribs and places for the thorns to stick out.
I started with the cactus though you could do the dirt first, it really doesn't matter.
The first thing you need to do is to get out the actual reference photo, not my step-by-step photos I post in my blogs because they do not have all the information you need, the photo does.
LOOK at the shadows and the highlights on the cactus and LOOK at how those lights and darks define the ribs of the cactus. Also look at how the tops of the ribs - where the thorns come out - shift from being almost in the middle of the rib looking straight on to being on the sides of the ribs as they go around the cactus, also notice how they get closer together visually as they go around the cactus. Last but not least, LOOK at how each of the ribs are scalloped, they are NOT a smooth straight line. Getting this correct will make your cactus look round and have dimension. The more you see BEFORE you start the more sense it will make as you are painting.
I was using my #4 flat bristle brush because I will be scrubbing in the lights and darks.
The light color is sap green, with a little orange to dull it and yellow to lighten it. I scrubbed this color on with the little side of my brush so I would have more control and it was a very dry brush, meaning I had little paint or water. It should be brighter at the tops of the ribs than at the bottom so as you paint, follow the shape of what you are painting (the top of each rib is rounded so use an upside down "U" type stroke, it isn't a wall) and as you go down the side of the rib, lighten the pressure on your brush so the color fades out.
Depending on how dark your under painting is and how well you do your dry brush, you may not need to add more shadows. However, If you need to add shadows like I did, it will be the same procedure except the colors will be Hooker's green, ultramarine blue and a touch of purple to make a dark green color, and a regular "U" type stroke starting at the very bottom between the ribs where it is darkest, using less pressure as you come up the sides of the rib. this is also the color for the boot's shadow on the cactus.
This is one of the rare occasions that I will tell you it is okay to use black and that is for the soles of the boots. They are a man made products and they use carbon black in the rubber (my dad worked for Goodyear as a rubber chemist and would come home covered in the stuff), also if you are doing fabric same rule applies for the same reason.
That said, if you do not have black, to make a very dark color use ultramarine blue, burnt umber and purple. If it looks too warm, use more blue to cool it down. This is what I did for my boots adding tiny touches of white for the grayer parts.
The dirt is a mix of many colors and is why I strongly suggest that you have ALL your colors out when you are painting because you will not want to stop to put them out when you need them, trust me on this because I do it myself.
I was using my #6 bristle brush this time and the stroke was more like a banana shape - a bit flat with curved up ends. This will give you the texture of dirt and I mixed my colors ON THE CANVAS, I didn't premix. By mixing on the canvas you get a more natural blend of the colors. Again, look at the dirt in the photo: It has warm yellow areas, cold gray areas, there are oranges, reds, blues and even a little green. Dirt isn't just brown.
Look to see where the light areas are and where the shadows are and adjust your colors accordingly. the only way you can go wrong is to paint it one color with flat strokes.
Those strokes will come in handy next week. These are what I have in the background behind my cactus and I'm seeing potential rocks :-)
You should let the dirt dry a bit before scrubbing in the shadows of the cactus and the boots, so while it is drying, look at the shape of the shadows particularly the boots. Those shadows sit your boots down into the dirt if you do them right and yes, this is very important. I saw some shadows that were thrown on without first looking at the shape and the boots looked like they were floating because the person didn't notice that where the boots contact the ground is smaller than were the toe of the boot curves up. See it before you paint it!
Again you will be scrubbing the in with a dry brush using blue, burnt sienna and a little purple. It is darker directly under the boot or cactus and gets a bit lighter as it gets further away from what is blocking the light. Scrub in the shape and be sure you don't have any hard lines, the shadows should kinda fade out. Look at the boots above for reference.
Week 4
Week 4 was all about the boots, getting in more light colors and adding the shadow of the boot on the second boot and just getting them to the point where they are almost finished.
Really look at the photo to see what you need or want to do. From this point on you need to decide what you want your finished painting to look like.
Here is a good look at the shadows under the boots, notice the shapes and the soft edges.
I was using my #4 flat bristle doing a lot of dry brush scrubbing, following the shape of what I was painting using variations of the thalo blue and white for the light areas and adding a little alizarin crimson for shadows.
I started adding touches of detail lie a highlight along the to edges of the boots. It is not white, I added a little bit of mud from my palette to my gesso so it wasn't stark white but looked like the soft leather from the inside. The dark color was the thalo and crimson. You can use a smaller sable brush, I used a #4 flat sable, or you can use a liner brush.
I have more detail I want to put on I will do that as I finish up my painting.
I did use my tooth brush to splatter color to make pebbles and rocks but when I was looking at it at home I realized I didn't get some lighter areas around the boots, so I will have to do the splattering again. Don't worry about it if you didn't get to it yet.
Finally, I added some lighter colors to those brush strokes I pointed out from week 3 to suggest bigger rocks laying behind the cactus. These aren't highlights just a color that is a little lighter than what is there. I also took my liner brush with some yellow and white to base in the flowers and some crimson and sienna for the centers.
This is where I left off in our last class and this should get you caught up for the past couple of weeks. Maybe, no promises, we will finish up this week.
Keep painting and I will see you in class.
Acrylic Project: Dancing Boots Week 2
In our last class I worked on under painting the boots. I showed 2 ways of doing this: Wet into wet and just a straight under painting.
For both boots my basic starting color was a mix of thalo blue, a little touch of crimson and gesso (white) to lighten it to a middle value.
In the back boot as I painted and looking at my reference photo, I would pick up little touches of white when I was in an area that was lighter or had a highlight or more thalo and crimson where the boot looked darker. This isn't the final shading on this but it is a start and working wet into wet gives you a slightly different finished look. The front boot was mostly just my original mix of color though I did add a little dark along the front top of the boot to remind me of the curve.
When I finished under painting the boots my painting looked like this.
Remember not to paint your boots like a wall. It is better to scrub and scumble as your brush follows the curves and dents of the boots because that will give them texture in the finished painting.
With my under painting dry, I went back to my original pile of paint and made a darker version with the thalo and crimson on one side and a lighter version adding white to the other so now I have three different values of the blue, I also added color as I painted right on the boots blending it in as I went (wet into wet).
You need to have the actual photo in front of you not my painting because mine can and will change as I go along the actual photo shows you exactly how the light was falling on the boots when I took the photo.
There are things you need to see when doing any shading, especially on material. There is the dark cast shadow, there is a middle tone or form shadow and a highlight. On the folds of the boots you will have all three and be sure that when you are doing these changes in value and your brush is also following the shape of what you are painting,if it is rounded, you should be making curved strokes as you are blending your colors. I have been using my #4 bristle brush for this part.
The interior of the boots is a light tan with a little darker tan as it goes down into the boot. Mix the darker color with white (gesso), sienna and a little blue, start where it is going down into the boot and as you come up, add white blending it into the darker color.
This is where I left off in class. I am guestimating that we have another couple of weeks before we finish this be sure to have your tooth brush with you for that part.
Keep painting and I will see you in class.
Acrylic Class Project: Dancing Boots Week 1
This week we started our class project of the boots. This is something a bit different from what we have been doing and should be a lot of fun.
The first thing I did was to create the background. In acrylic we can start from the background and work our way forward because we can paint right over the top of of what we did before.
I am working on a 16 x 20 stretched canvas and for this part I used my 2" hake brush (blending brush).
The first thing I did was to lightly spray my canvas with water (you can use the hake brush to wet the canvas), then I applied a thin coat of gesso to the entire surface of the canvas so I could blend into the wet gesso. Gesso dries a bit slower so it gives you a bit more time to work, just remember that it is white and will change the value of your paint by making it lighter.
Still using the blending brush I picked up some yellow and a touch of orange and started working in the light areas. I did not premix on my palette, I went straight to the canvas to do what is called "brush blending". Working out from that light area I picked up, in not particular order, burnt sienna, blue, orange, a bit of red, more yellow and to darken the corners,more blue and some purple.
This is where your skills with the blending brush come into play: When you put it on your canvas, get it on quickly and get the area covered. It doesn't matter if it is a solid color, it is better if it isn't, this is called "mottling" and is a great background for many subjects.
To blend your colors is the tricky part, you need to use very little pressure on your brush and the brush is almost parallel to the surface of the canvas. Use long crisscross strokes to blend your colors. If you feel the brush start to drag, you may need to spritz your canvas with a little water but quickly work the water into the paint as you continue blending.
This doesn't have to be perfect and you should have a variety of colors, the more you practice this technique the easier it will be for you to create those soft blends. Let it dry.
When the background was dry, I taped my design over the canvas. My boots are slightly off center and that is on purpose, I want a bit of space in front of the boots so they are not "Dead Center". Subjects that are centered seem to be stagnate visually, there are always exceptions to all "rules" in art, but better to go with the rule of thirds in most cases.
I had used white chalk to go over the lines on the back of my design then used the end of a brush to go over the lines to transfer the design to the canvas. I also used the Poster 8 program to enlarge the design to fit my canvas. (see Lerri's Links" in the sidebar)
The last thing I did in class was to under paint my cactus. I switched to a #6 flat bristle brush to fill in my cactus. the reason I use the bristle brushes for this step is because they are designed for a lot of abuse, the sable brushes just won't last long with all the scrubbing and scumbling we do when we under paint.
THE KEY to this is not to paint the cactus or any other subject like a wall. Everything has its own unique shape and you need to follow that shape. This cactus is rounded so all of my strokes with follow the roundness and the curves of the cactus.
As you can see, there is a lot of brush strokes and texture in my under painting of the cactus. I used Hooker's green, ultramarine blue, touches of sienna, some yellow to suggest the tops of ribs, and even a bit of purple in the darker areas. Look at the reference photo to see how the cactus gets darker near the bottom and as it goes around. Good reference is a must if you want to be a better painter because it has all the information you need to create a believable painting whether you are going for realistic or impressionistic paintings..
This stage may look messy but it is the foundation for our cactus.
Try to get your painting to this point because this is where I will be picking up the demos. Keep painting and I will see you in class.
