Cedar Crossing - A Step-by-step Oil Painting Demonstration By Aaron Holland

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About Aaron:

My formal training has been in the “Boston School” tradition, at the Studio of Peter Bougie and Brian Lewis (an Atelier), in the lineage of Richard Lack. While there, I was trained in portraiture, figurative, and still life painting methods, as well as a thorough study of academic drawing approaches. I studied with Mr Bougie and Mr. Lewis every day for five days a week, approximently 7-8 hours a day, for three and a half years. Ironically, it was while I was there that I came to love the landscape.

Both of my teachers are ardent “Plein Air” ( outside, on location) landscape painters, and would often bring in their paintings for our appreciation. After much time spent in the studio their paintings were like a breath of fresh air, and the saturated colors of outdoor light seemed beyond comprehension. I was further impressed by the notion that the paintings were done without the aid of photographic references! It was their belief that, although sometimes necessary, it can often be counter-productive to the aims of a true artist.

I have been painting “on my own” since 1998, and have tried to maintain the same integrity and faithfulness towards landscape painting that I saw demonstrated there. Although there are some differences in how I see and paint the landscape, I think that is an important aspect to growing and developing as an artist. I have made an effort to dedicate several days each week to paint direct from nature. During these painting sessions I have been seeking to capture both the essence of a scene, and how it speaks to me on a personal level. Currently I am concentrating on smaller en plein air compositional studies with a focus on light and color, painted “en premiere coup” (or, in one sitting).

There is still so much to learn, and I am often overwhelmed by the challenges of landscape painting. Sometimes it seems that the more I learn, the more I realize I have a lot more to learn…but, that keeps it interesting!

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Cedar Crossing - Step By Step Painting Demonstration

STEP#1. The Drawing

Winter has come and is gone for another year.

This winter I decided to tackle a painting I have thought about for a number of years. I am just finishing up on it, and I thought I would share it with you.

I was inspired by a scene I saw once upon a time. ..The town I live in has many buildings that date back over a hundred years, on a quaint main street with vintage lamp posts. The lights hanging in the trees and the freshly fallen snow gave the town a timeless christmas feel. When I saw the horse and carriage trotting slowly down the street knew I had to paint it someday!

The next few steps show the progression from start (drawing, above) to a finished painting.

STEP #2. The Transfer

I traced the finished drawing (shown step 1) onto a piece of Acetate with a fine-point Sharpie, and now I am shown transfering it onto a linen canvas (toned golden).

This is a little time consuming, but I can save all the work I did in the drawing and concentrate more on the painting…

STEP #3- Imprimatura

I start by painting in the darks with a wash of Brown paint thinned with mineral spirits. I do this rather quickly to give me an idea of where the darks and lights will be (the values) throughout the picture.

The toned canvas helps me see the values more accurately (a white canvas is too bright and throws the values off when comparing them next to it), and I find the gold is a nice color because it shows through and adds warmth.

#4. The Underpainting

At this point you can start to see the picture develop! I find it
helpful to get a feel for how the finished picture will look, and to
begin to see the overall placement of objects as well as the values.

#5. Building up the Lights

I now begin building up the lights with white paint. Of course there are several methods of painting. I could have continued developing the transparent washes and that way brough it to a finish, but rather this is just the imprimatura (or initial start before the actual painting begins)

#6. Venetian Method

I am creating an “underpainting” that is monochromatic (one color). This is called a Grisaille (pronounced Griz-eye’ ).

When you create an underpainting and then glaze color over it, that approach is called an “indirect method”. Instead of black and white, however, (which is the traditional colors for a Venetian Approach underpainting) I am using brownish umber and white.

There are various styles of “Indirect Painting” the two most notable styles are the “Venetian” and the “Flemish”, and every conceivable variation between the two. As I understand them, the main difference between them (keeping it simplified) is that the “Flemish” approach keeps transparent darks throughout, and the Venetians created opaque underpaintings and then glaze colors in the darks for depth and luminosity. There are other notable differences, but that will suffice for now.

Technically, the most important consideration for Indirect Painting is not the specific approach or even the finished result, but rather the oil content and the application. It is very important that the “Fat-over-Lean” rule be applied correctly; or, more oil over less oil.

One way to do that is to start with a “Lean” paint in the Imprimatura (thinned with Odorless Mineral Spirits), and as you begin to paint opaquelly to switch from a thinned paint to a mixture of oil that has gradually more oil and less thinner in it- the oil increasing in proprtion in each successive layer).

STEP #8. Working The Whole

I start to add some details such as lights, and definition to the horse and carriage, yet it is more important at this stage to maintain unity. I am looking to make sure that the “big picture” reads well. Notice how I am adjusting the values. I am trying to keep the lightest lights and darkest darks in the foreground to help create a sense of depth.

The paintings success will be determined by how well I paint the underpainting.

One very important aspect to indirect painting, is creating a solid foundation. I have taken this as far as I intend to, without over-working it. Now it is time to let the paint dry. In order for it to be a solid foundation to recieve layers of glaze it is necessary that this part of the painting dry thoroughly.

STEP #9. Starting to add glazes

Although this is not a very “colorful” picture, I will be adding some “glazes (transparent washes of color) that will add depth and luminosity. Notice the lights and some of the awnings, for example.

It is important in the Venetian approach to avoid texture in the brush strokes until the end of the painting, and they should then be applied at the same time as the glazes and NOT glazed over. A safe approach would be to glaze the color as you want it to be, then to add thick paint right on top of the glaze- this is a safe method that is in keeping with the Fat-over-Lean approach.

The ridges in textured paint will make the glazes look uneven and the color will settle in the ridges. In most cases this is to be avoided.

Step #10. The Finished Painting

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Learn How to Oil Paint - Tips & Techniques From a Master Painter

If you want to learn how to oil paint and not sure how to begin, then the following article will prove to be quite helpful in your pursuit to become a good painter.

Before you read on, you will have to try and forget everything you ever learned about oil painting and look at your painting from a new perspective. A recent art class I attended, taught by a master painter, has completely changed the way I approach oil painting and has opened up many new creative doors for me. I hope it will do the same for you.

START WITH A CONCEPT

Up until just recently, I was a very frustrated oil painter. I have 10 or so incomplete paintings collecting dust in the corner of my small studio. I would attempt to complete these 10 or so paintings over and over again, until finally I had to take a step back and try and understand what I was doing wrong.

The reason I lost interest and was unable to complete these paintings, was because I did not have a concept in mind before I started. I would start haphazardly painting without a clear vision of what I really wanted to accomplish with my oil painting.

Concepts are methods for solving problems in a painting. I bet you never saw painting as being a series of problems. Neither did I , but this way of thinking really does make learning how to oil paint more interesting.

What do you want your painting to be about?

Instead of thinking: “My painting is about trees in a field”, start thinking in terms of , “My painting is about the light that falls on the trees in a field”.

When you have a blueprint or roadmap in mind before you start painting, there is no room for diversion. You must stick to your plan.

MASTER YOUR BRUSH

A very important aspect of oil painting is learning how to control your brush. Without good brush control and technique, your effectiveness as a painter is truly limited.

Make sure you have the best possible brushes you can afford. While it is possible to save money on paint and canvas, one should never work with cheap brushes. In my experience, cheaper brushes are simply not worth it. The biggest issue with cheap brushes is with the hairs falling off and becoming embedded in your painting. It is quite annoying.

One of the biggest mistakes artists make, myself included, is not reloading the paint brush enough. I am not sure if this is an act of laziness or fear of wasting paint. Whatever the reason may be, make sure you always have enough paint on your brush so that there is always a layer of paint between your brush and the canvas. Do not try and scrub the paint into the canvas. Paint your strokes and leave them be. Don’t over work your brushstrokes.

MASSING

One great way to get the main ideas of an oil painting down is with a technique called Massing. Massing is about seeing your subject as a whole and not concentrating on all of the fine details.

For instance, lets say you subject is a pineapple. Instead of trying to get down all the various textures and details on your pineapple, think in terms of “planes” of light and shadow.

Add in those planes first and then later on you can put in all of your finer details.

COLOR

Nothing in my opinion, can confuse a painter more, then working with color. I know one of my weaknesses in the beginning was working with too many colors in the same painting which resulted in a muddy nightmare.

I never really took the time to understand how colors interact with one another.

Here are some great tips to keep in mind while working with color in your paintings:

- If you add white to another color, it will make that color cooler and more opaque.

- Instead of adding white to a color to make it brighter, try adding more color instead.

- Don’t be afraid to use black. Many teachers recommend staying away from black, but I beg to differ. Did you know you can get some very nice greens by mixing ivory black with certain blues and yellows?

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Launching Your Oil Painting Career

Oil painting is the ideal medium for the novice. It is an excellent way to study, because changes and corrections are easily made. Unwanted passages of color can be scraped off the canvas any number of times without injury to the surface.

One color can be painted over another, drawing and proportions can be corrected, and all the nuances of light and shadow can be studied experimentally. The painting can be put aside at any time, to be picked up and continued at a later date.

Some beginners choose oil without considering other media because of a reverence for the “genuine oil painting.” When they take up painting as a hobby they want to produce “pictures that show the actual brush strokes.”

Many other amateurs, who would like to work in several media but feel that their time is too limited, select oil after checking with teachers or schools or experimenting on their own. Even a person who is more interested in another medium may find, as I have, that by using oils he can more easily study color subtleties and can acquire basic knowledge that will later be applied to the medium he prefers. The old adage, “One medium helps another,” is especially true if the first one is oil.

As you progress you will soon discover that there is more to oil painting than the surface quality of the brushwork. The type of surface you work on, the preliminary staining of the surface, and the under painting all affect the finished result.

However, in your initial efforts you will want to work in a direct manner, particularly when painting outdoors. Later you can experiment in the studio with various types of under painting.

If you are just beginning to paint, you will do well to start with a reputable brand of student color. Most color manufacturers make a line of student colors along with their professional grades. These colors are appreciably less expensive and the selection is nearly as wide as in the professional line.

As you progress, you can replace the student brand with colors of professional quality, which have far greater covering quality, particularly in the Cadmiums and Blues. There are several good brands of colors available. My own choice is the Grumbacher line.

I recommend the following colors for basic use: Alizarin Crimson; Cadmium Yellow, Light; Cadmium Red, Light; French Ultramarine; Ivory Black; Light Red; Thalo Green; Yellow Ochre; Zinc or Titanium White.

These nine colors will enable you to mix the various shades of other colors that you will need for most purposes.

However, you may want to supplement these colors with: Cadmium Yellow, Deep; Cadmium Orange; Cerulean Blue; Burnt Sienna; Viridian; Cobalt Blue; Thalo Blue; Raw Umber.

Once you get your paints in order, you’re going to need something to paint on. The best and most receptive surface on which to work is stretched linen canvas. Linen, however, is relatively expensive, and cotton canvas is a good substitute.

The cotton canvas panels that fit in your paint box are the most convenient for painting outdoors and are inexpensive. They are light in weight, too, and have the added advantage of not taking up much space when stored in your studio. These first few tools are essential components of oil painting. Once you get these, you’ll be on your way to creating your masterpiece.

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