- Hedge your bets
Using washes of pure Quinacridone Gold
and Green Gold, I loosely brushed in the
sunlit parts of the hedge on the left of the
lane, concentrating the Quinacridone Gold
towards the top of the hedge and the Green
Gold lower down. I used the direction of the
brush marks to indicate the direction of
growth within the hedge.
As these washes dried, I added slightly
stronger touches of the same mix along the
hedge to add texture and interest, being
careful not to overdo this stage. Adding
too many touches might result in this part
of the painting becoming too busy or
overworked.
- Draw in textures
When the previous stage was dry, I turned my attention to the snow. With a mix of
French Ultramarine, Winsor Blue (Green Shade) and a touch of Permanent Rose
I began to loosely wash in the shadowed areas of snow. This would be the first of a
number of washes on the snow area, each one designed to add texture and shadow.
With mixes of French Ultramarine, Green Gold and Quinacridone Gold, I added the
field boundaries and trees to the distant hills. This stage of the painting is more akin
to ‘drawing’ with the brush than true wash work.- Grow the trees
With a mix of Quinacridone Gold and a little
Burnt Sienna I painted in the sunlit trees in
the midground. As these were drying, I added
some Green Gold and a little French
Ultramarine to the mix and touched this into
the shadow side of the trees.
This had to be done when the previous
wash was just at the correct stage of
dampness. If it was too dry, it would result
in a hard, unwanted edge; too wet and the
colours would flow together and the effect
I was trying to create would have been lost.
With this same dark mix, I continued to
develop the field boundaries and trees.
- Tease out textures
After checking that the previous stage was
dry, I painted the small wood at the end of
the lane using a mix of French Ultramarine
and Quinacridone Gold. I knew that Daniel
Smith’s French Ultramarine was a wonderful
granulating colour, which I was hoping would
create some interesting textures when
combined with NOT surface of the
Two Rivers Paper.
With my board at an angle of about 20
degrees, I applied the wash quite loosely,
letting the colours gather and pool at various
points. I kept the board at the same angle
as I allowed it to dry.- Be dynamic
As the previous stage was still drying, I took
a mix of French Ultramarine, Winsor Blue
(Green Shade) and a little Permanent Rose
and painted in some additional textural
details along the snowy road and up into
the hedge bank, endeavouring to keep the
marks loose and dynamic as I went.
The angle of the board would encourage
small pools of wash to collect and, when dry,
would contribute a further layer of textural
interest to the thawing snow.