I am trying to get back into painting and have chosen something from my neighborhood - an autumn scene- I love the abstract patterns in the water, the pop of sienna in the focal tree, the diagonals that move the eye through the scene- I am struggling with whether to crop...I think I like the depth in the current view. Onto more thumbnails and then a value study. I confess, I already started this twice, without the proper process and of course not to my liking. I must really discipline myself to follow thumbnail, grayscale, color study then painting...AND avoid details in the beginning! I get so caught up in the details (rookie!!) and lose perspective.
As I'm working from a photo I find myself struggling to identify the color for the yellow tree on the left side ..I think it needs to be YO +BU +W with some YO +W lights..though I also see a bit of green which is why I added a little sap green to the mix in the color study.
Add a Comment
Thanks, be sure to let me know what color scheme you will be using.
Hey Lori ... regarding the overhang branch ... I should have made it a step or 2 darker .. so be sure to do that.
This kind of sucks .. you could do better ... but it gives you an idea about the masses, shapes, planes, and linear movement. Negative shapes are kind of important in this painting . so stay tuned to those. I used 4 values of Tombow pens .. dark, mid dark, mid light, and light. Do this yourself and refine things a little better then I did .. for instance ... you could probably bring the distant bank down a little .. that will give you more room for neat things like shadows and more of the meadow. Note the distant trees in the meadow. Note that your darkest darks are the green tree masses. BTW, stay within the color schemes I suggested ..there is no red in either of them .... the "Red" trees you are referring to are actually a Red/Orange .. and THAT color is in your color scheme ... try not to stray from your assigned color scheme ... be sure to mix every color from the colors you have chosen for your scheme .. I think I gave you 3 choices? Do a nice 4 or 5 value B/W sketch like this .. be sure to mass in the value shapes .. don't be picky with it .. connect the darks. See if you can design that overhang branch better then I did. Let me see it when you are done .. If you are satisfied with it, I will take you through the next step .. if you like that is???
Good planning Lori! A couple of things. 1. Get rid of the straight line on the left bank and make it a diagonal going INTO the painting, not across it. 2. Where the right bank line goes around the bend .. get rid of that diagonal and make it straight. 3. The hillside in the back . too puny. Make that tree mass in the far distance much taller and angle it in the opposite direction of the slanted hillside line. Those 2 little trees on the hillside .. larger. (wish I had photo shop to demo). 4. Make those tree reflections on the right almost all the way down . same on the left. Make sure the sky reflection forms a V shape. 5. Too much sky! .. make that tree mass on the right MUCH larger and use up more space to the left so you lesson the sky area. I will make a quick drawing and send it to you demonstrating what I have just suggested. BTW, try making your horizon on the golden section .. if you divide your vertical length into 8 equal spaces .. then the golden section would be on the 3/8 mark. You can also do that horizontally and put the small tree on the intersection of the vertical and horizontal golden mean. Anyway, going to get busy and do a quick sketch .. so hang on awhile . ok?
The Complete Artist is a friendly social network for all artists wanting to improve their painting.
Get my FREE Painting Lessons here!
© 2024 Created by Richard Robinson. Powered by
You need to be a member of The Complete Artist to add comments!
Join The Complete Artist