2020-06-01_The_Artists_Magazine

32 Artists Magazine June 2020

Build ART HACKS

AtmosphericKnow-How

●Bothlandandskygetsofter,coolerandpalerasthey

recedeintothedistance,asdemonstratedbytheJ.M.W.

Turnerpaintingseenabove.

●Cloudscastshadowsonland,waterandvegetation.

Remembertoshowthoseshadowshapes.

●Callinyourmostgolden,glowinghighlightsforthetips

ofsunlitclouds.Theycanlookalmostgilded.

●Themoremoistureintheair,themorereflections.As

a result,you’llseemorecolorintheskyandreflected

ontonearbyelements.

●Whenpaintingmistorfog,don’tjustreachfora thinned-

outwhite.Choosea slightlycoolerversionofthecolorof

theobjectsthemistcovers.

●Anobjectshroudedinfoglosesdetail,colorsaturation

andvalueinproportiontothedensityofthemistandits

distancefromyou.

HomerTrio

(1)Simplifyyourskies.(2)Pulloutandvaryyourshapes.

(3)Letyoursurfacecolorshinethrough.WinslowHomer’s

SunsetFiresdoesallthree.

SunsetFires

byWinslow

Homer

watercoloron

paper,13⁶⁄₁^0 x24⁷⁄₁^0

WESTMORELAND

MUSEUMOF

AMERICANART,

GREENSBURG,PA.

Cloud Quartet

● Fluffy, puffy cumulus clouds often fill a fair-weather sky.

Give them fl at, shadowed bottoms and rounded “turret” tops.

● Thin, flat, wispy cirrus clouds look like strands of hair and

are found at high altitudes. They have the lightest coloring,

so reach for untinted white when mixing paints.

●Stratuscloudsfloatlowest.Whenveryclosetoearth,they

appearasmistorfog.Whenhigher,they’reflat,layered

andofsomewhatuniformshapeandcolor(grayandwhite).

●Darkgraytoblacknimbuscloudsaccompanystormsand

precipitation.Theyoftenhavechoppy,unevenbases.

LayIt onThick

Texturecanbringoutbright

highlightsina colorful

sky—justcheckoutthevan

Goghatright.Usea palette

knifeorimpastobrushwork

forvisualheft.

WheatFieldWithCypresses

byVincentvanGogh

1889;oiloncanvas,28⅞x36¾

THEMETROPOLITANMUSEUMOFART,NEWYORK

OneImpactfulLine

Thehorizonlinecanimplyanendlessstretchoflandscape

ora vastskysoaringabovea slipoftheearth.Considerthe

possibilitiesasyoupositionthisline,butalwayskeepit close

toparalleltoyourartwork’sbottomandtopedges.

Tomakeviewersfeelthey’relookingupward, paintobjects

abovethehorizonline.

Fora bird’seyeview, usea higherhorizonline.

Foraneye-levelview, placethehorizonlinebetweenthe

middleofyoursurfaceandthetopofitslowerthird.

Hello, Big Sky

Check out these tips for depicting all things

above the horizon.

—COURTNEY JORDAN

READERHACK

“Foranetheraleffect,usea squeegeewitha rubber

bladetoblenda largeareaofa pastelpainting,asin

a landscape.”—evemiller

Fora chancetowina monthoffreeaccessto

ArtistsNetworkTV,emailyourfavoritearthackto

[email protected]:

“ArtHacks.”Submissionschosenforpublicationmay

beeditedforlengthandclarity.

Landscape With a River and a Bay in the Background

by J.M.W. Turner

1835–40; oil on canvas, 36³⁄₅x48²⁄₅

LOUVRE MUSEUM, PARIS

J.M.W. LANDSCAPE: COURTESY OF WIKIMEDIA COMMONS