Artists & Illustrators — June 2017

Artists & Illustrators 55

MASTERCLASS

10 TOUCHES OF DETAIL

With most of the structure in place, it is

now time to add some touches of detail.

These marks tend to be smaller and more

controlled than the earlier stages of the

painting. Working around my palette and

adding a little white to the previous mixes,

I add detail to the walls, posts and

foreground with the large fl at brush.

11 COMMIT TO THE SCENE

The sky has been particularly changeable,

but now it is time to commit. So with mixes

of French Ultramarine, Permanent Rose and

Titanium White using the size 16 fl at brush,

I paint the sky simply and directly, the bold

brushmarks describing the shape of the

clouds and passing showers.

12 PICK UP TEXTURE

One of the benefi ts of working on my own

prepared panels is that I can create the

desired tooth to work on. The acrylic primer

and Polyfi lla mix creates textural brushmarks

which, when painting, often bring both

interest and texture to the painting. With the

old watercolour brush, I carefully add a few

lighter passages to the hills, picking up the

texture of the panel as I work.

9 TACKLE THE TREES

I turn my attention to the trees. Their tracery

etched against the landscape in the sunlight,

but within a moment, is lost as a shadow

passes over them. I use a stiff mix of Yellow

Ochre, Burnt Sienna with a touch of

Permanent Sap Green to block in the trees,

using my fi nger to apply paint. With the

palette knife, I scratch out sunlit branches.

52 Masterclass.indd 55 07/04/2017 11:40