40 artistMay 2020 http://www.painters-online.co.uk
MIXED MEDIA
u STAGE THREE
After strengthening the colour on the main
tree trunks by adding more sepia ink, I
applied a wash of ultramarine ink over the
surface, starting from the top left-hand
corner and once again letting it run down the
paper – you can see a lovely deep, dark colour
in some of the areas where the ultramarine
and sepia inks have mixed together. I kept
small areas of the white paper for some of
the snowdrops but the majority of them will
be painted using white acrylic paint or fluid
acrylic colours. I also added another wash of
manganese blue
p STAGE ONE
I prepared and primed the paper with a layer of Golden
white gesso, which created some lovely and different
effects. I normally use an aquarelle pencil to lightly
indicate my composition but as I would be using mixed
media, these marks were by no means written in stone
and could easily be modifiedt STAGE TWO
I applied Golden High Flow Acrylic Ink in sepia over the
tree trunks and allowed the washes to run freely over
the primed surface of the paper. I then added diluted
manganese blue Fluid Acrylic in between the tree
trunks and, once again, allowed the colour to run over
the surface. It is great the way these colours went on to
mix randomly over the paper, creating interesting and
random shapeswill be nuances of shadow colour on the
white petals. These need to be handled
delicately with subtle shades of grey to
avoid making the petals too heavy.
Composition
Despite their delicate appearance
snowdrops can be picked and
displayed in a small jar or vase to make
interesting still-life compositions. They
also make great compositions in the
garden and the landscape – it is so
special to see the flowers poking their
heads through the snow. They grow in
clumps and are often surrounded by
the remainder of the dry autumn foliage
or bark, both of which provide a great
dark backdrop for the white blooms.
Once again, negative shape painting
is absolutely necessary to help make
the flower heads look natural and
incidental rather than stiff and stylised.
The shape of the petals lends itself to
being depicted with a certain amount
of movement. The narrow sword-likefoliage is the perfect foil for the droopy
flower heads.
For this demonstration I have chosen
to paint snowdrops in a woodland
setting. In mid-February there are
many gardens with breathtaking views
of carpets of snowdrops against bare
winter trees that are open to the public.
It’s a sight as stunning as bluebell
woods in April.DEMONSTRATION Carpet of Snowdrops
MATERIALS
l Golden gesso
l Golden Heavy Body Acrylic: titanium white
l Golden High Flow Acrylic ink: sepia, ultramarine blue,
burnt sienna, titanium white
l Golden Fluid Acrylic: manganese blue, benzimidazolone
yellow light, zinc white
l Sennelier pastels: yellow ochre, light blue, light green
l Paper: St Cuthbert’s Mill Saunders Waterford HP, 200IbTA