http://www.painters-online.co.uk artistMay 2020 41
PRACTICAL
u FINISHED
PAINTING
Carpet of Snowdrops, mixed
media, 16 3 20in (40.5 3 51cm).
To help create the depth I
wanted to achieve, I started
dividing the white and light
grey shapes into smaller
snowdrops, which allowed the
smaller shapes to recede into
the distance. I kept the larger
shapes in the foreground. I did
this with the same washes as
before and a slightly smaller
sable brush. Using a mixture
of ultramarine blue, white
and a touch of burnt sienna I
applied some shadow colour
to the side of the flower heads
in shadow, then painted the
lighter side of the foreground
snowdrops using heavy
body titanium white. I mixed
a green with ultramarine
blue and benzimidazolone
yellow light for some of
the foreground foliage and
between some of the flowers.
With a light ochre soft pastel
I added some light to the tree
trunks to give the trees some
form. I also made the larger tree trunk, which I had placed on the right-hand third, the focal point. Thin light washes of ultramarine blue sent some
of the shapes into shadow and helped create the sunlit effect. I added a few light green touches of soft pastels to finish the painting
u STAGE FOUR
Using the same colours of sepia, ultramarine and
manganese blue I applied washes in the negative
areas of the white spaces to provisionally shape a few
snowdrops. At this stage, the size of the flower heads
was not correct – I rectified these throughout the
painting until I was satisfied that I had created enough
recession. I then splattered over some of the distant
dark areas with titanium white ink to suggest the
distant snowdropst STAGE FIVE
Yet another wash of sepia ink was applied over
the tree trunks. I like strengthening the colour
layer by layer to avoid the trees becoming too
heavy and contrived. I splattered some more
white, both titanium and zinc, on the right-
hand side, so the more translucent (zinc white)
snowdrops receded further into the background.
I used the same three colours to give more shape
to the foreground snowdrops and added some
branches to the winter trees with the same
sepia mixture. Washes of ultramarine blue and
manganese blue in the background helped bring
the atmospheric ambience I wanted to create in
the woodland. I tried to make sure that the edges
of the trees have some areas of lost and found
and they are not all hard and sharp edges