- Mimic the sunlight effects
The trunks of the closest trees were partly
in shadow and partly in sunlight. I didn’t want
to lose all of my underpainting, so I decided
to recreate this effect by adding patches of
colour over the top of the violet that was
already there.
I mixed a dark brown from Cadmium
Red, French Ultramarine, Winsor Yellow and
Titanium White and added it to parts of the
trees using my size 2 brush. I then mixed
a small amount of this brown with more
Titanium White and painted some patches
of this thick cream colour where the sun
was hitting the trees.
- Pick out with impasto
By not using paint too thickly in the early
stages of the picture, it means that, when
you do, it packs a punch and stands out.
To complete the trees, I added a small
amount of my brown mix (Cadmium Red,
French Ultramarine and Winsor Yellow) to
Titanium White to create a light cream colour.
I used my size 2 brush to lay on small, thick
strokes to the trees. These small highlights
build upon the previous layers of paint to
create visual interest in the tree trunks.
- Introduce pure greens
For the first time in the painting I used a ready-mixed green, mixing Viridian with Winsor Yellow
and a small amount of Titanium White to paint the leaves on the nearest bush and shrub on
the far left. Viridian pigment tends to be more powerful than greens mixed with blue and
yellow so I used this to help the near greens stand out from those further away, while also
reflecting the way Monet uses his colours in his original painting. I also used this colour for
patches on the tree trunks and in the reflections, remembering to make horizontal strokes.- Finishing touches
Knowing when to walk away
from a painting is difficult so
it’s worth standing back to
see how it looks from a
distance. I felt that the
painting needed work on the
reflections, so I added more
highlights on the water and
softened some of the colour
on the reflected trees. I also
added longer marks in the
water using Cerulean Blue
with a touch of Winsor Yellow
and Titanium White to show
areas where the wind was
disrupting the reflections.Top tip
Use thick impasto
strokes towards the
end of your painting
to add highlights
that stand out