MATERIALS
• Craft Board
• Gesso Primer
• Acrylic paints: Yellow Ochre;Cadmium Yellow; White; Cerulean Blue; Ultramarine Blue; Light Red Oxide; Burnt Sienna; Burnt Umber.
• HB Pencil
• Brushes: Art Spectrum Flat Series 900 (4, 8 and 12).
STEP ONE
I coat my craft board with two coats of Gesso Primer (rolled by preference). The board needs to be well sealed, to give an even finish on the painting.
STEP TWO
I lay down a warm underpaint, using Yellow Ochre and White, so that any unpainted board (in the final painting) will not look cold.
STEP THREE
The main subjects are sketched in, using HB pencil. For this work, the painting will be 2.5 times as large as the photograph.
STEP FOUR
The sky is rendered in Cerulean Blue, White and Cadmium Yellow. In this painting, the sky is light in tone to provide contrast with the main subjects.
STEP FIVE
The mountain is a prominent feature in the landscape. It is initiated with Ultramarine Blue and a mix of the above palette.
STEP SIX
Burnt Umber is added to the Ultramarine Blue to make a greying colour for the roofs on the foreground buildings. Tree images are scumbled with Burnt Umber stipple.
STEP SEVEN
I paint in the building colours, using Light Red Oxide, Yellow Ochre and White; adding Burnt Umber and Burnt Sienna for darker areas. Bold areas are painted in the foreground and the buildings.
STEP EIGHT
I highlight the trees with Cadmium Yellow (adding some White); and dry-brush the light road areas.
STEP NINE
Detail and figures are added. Fine detail is done with a Number 4 Nylon Liner (finer if needed).
MASTER HINTS AND TIPS
• To achieve oil paint results with acrylics, I use the opaque colours … although transparent colours are appropriate if working with glazes.
• When overpainting older paint, I add matt medium or varnish; or brush old work with matt medium or varnish and paint over that coating.
