New Artist - 2016__

Ultramarine Blue and Red

Bordeaux. The cypresses are

created with Dark Yellow and

Payne‘s Grey, applied with a

large brush (number 16) because

I do not want to include detail at

this stage. I use a lot of water so

I am able to mix the colours at

will. Allow everything to dry.

I usually start with a few sketches of my
first impressions of the image that I am
creating. I sketch quickly – without any
artistic pretensions – but allowing me
to establish the design of the painting,
the light and dark, the arrangement of
objects, what needs to be highlighted and
what is hidden. At this stage I’m not even
thinking about the colour scheme, I‘m just
concentrating on what I want to represent

• in this case a Tuscan landscape. I divide
  the space following the rule of thirds: three
  vertical and horizontal lines that intersect
  to form nine areas. The intersection of the
  lines is a strong point and where I will place
  a significant element of the composition.
  For this painting, this is where I decided
  to place key characteristic elements of the
  Tuscan countryside such as the cottage and
  the cypress trees.

Place key elements where

the lines intersect

Work out where

light and dark

areas will be

Sketching using the rule of thirds

Establish the arrangement of elements and light and dark areas.

(^4) Second layer of colour
I begin to outline the painting
itself. Now everything takes
shape and colour. The trees help
to create the perspective effect,
accentuated by the Z-shape
composition formed by the line
of the horizon and the road that
winds through the hills.
Alessandro finds inspiration in the light and colours of Tuscany.

P

reparing for a new
painting is the most
time-consuming
aspect for Italian artist
Alessandro Andreuccetti. Here
he takes us through his process
for ‘Timeless Tuscany‘.

(^1) Preparing the board
The work begins with the
preparation of the support.
I decided to paint on a panel
of Forex (expanded PVC) that
will guarantee lightness, rigidity
and durability – it‘s practically
indestructible unless you use the
cutter, scissors or other tools!
(^2) Drawing the outline
With an ordinary, soft graphite
pencil, I draw the broad outlines
of the subject. Usually they are
not precise or faithful to reality

• but are a mixture of both real
  and various elements created
  in a manner I consider most
  appropriate. In this painting, for
  example, there are trees that did
  not exist in the original photo
  and the cottages were moved
  to balance the composition.
  In the end what matters is the
  final image, which should be
  pleasant and well-balanced in its
  components and impact.

(^2) First strokes of colour
Using a lot of water, I place
the first strokes of colour:
Deep Yellow with accents of
MATERIALS
OForex PVC board
OGesso acrylic primer
OMaimeri Polycolor:
Deep Yellow (118)
Bordeaux (165)
Ultramarine (390)
Payne’s Grey (514)
A NOTE ON ACRYLIC PAINTS
Acrylic paints can be thinned
with water and used as
washes like watercolours,
but the washes aren’t
re-hydratable once they’ve
dried, so can’t be blended
with other layers at that point.
Acrylics don’t usually come
off! Stronger solvents might
remove some of the paint but
not the stain. If working with
several media, bear in mind
these solvents will remove any
other paints they touch.