Glazing is one of several methods of applying oil paint that are called “indirect painting”techniques. The term “indirect” simply means that the painting is built up in layers which are allowed to dry before successive layers are added. Glazing is a technique which consists of applying thin layers of transparent color over either transparent or […]
Mixing Low Chroma Greens
In the recent post Simplify Mixing Greens we saw how using Chromatic Black as a starting point for mixing greens can result in a wide variety of naturalistic greens. In this short video, I use Williamsburg Neutral Greys as a starting point to mix low chroma greens. You can use the premixed Williamsburg or Gamblin […]
Water: Color in Reflections
Painting water is an endlessly challenging subject. In addition to understanding the visual science of how we perceive reflections, as artists we also need to think about how to best depict those perceptions in color! Here are a few helpful color notes to think about when painting reflections: ~the depth of the water (the deeper […]
Painting Water–Edward Seago
Water provides endless possibilities for design in landscape painting. Today I want to show you several paintings by the British landscape painter Edward Seago (1910-1974) as examples of how the reflections themselves can be used to create and establish the composition. The important thing to remember here is that these paintings were designed, not found. […]
Scumble!
For landscape painters one of the challenges of depicting the outdoors is getting a sense of “air” and atmosphere into our work. A scumble is a useful technique that can add that look of distance and “bigness” we want. Use a scumble to create atmosphere. Here’s a short video to show how that works! P.S. […]
Simplify Mixing Greens
It’s spring, soon to be summer, and one of the best ways to get a strong start on your landscape paintings is to simplify your palette. Mixing beautiful naturalistic greens can be challenging. Here’s a short video on mixing naturalistic greens to show you how! P.S. If you’d like to know more about how to […]