MATERIALS
• Canvas on board, 46 x 61 cm.
• Flat and round bristle brushes – sizes 6, 8 and 10.
• Nylon rigger brush – size 0.
• Artists’ oil paints: Titanium White; Cobalt Blue; Ultramarine Blue; Flinders Blue Violet; Pilbarra Red; Flinders Red Violet; Venetian Red; Raw Sienna; Yellow Ochre; and Viridian.
STEP ONE
The tree in this painting is growing in the open, with a well-formed canopy. It is rather symmetrical (not unlike a light bulb). Being placed to the left of centre it is balanced by the much smaller and distant tree to the right and a shrub to the left. The red earth of the dam, which creates a dominant horizontal, dissects the picture plane at the base of the tree – which is the dominant vertical. The drawing is completed with charcoal over a light grey wash.
STEP TWO
It is preferable and easier to make compositional changes at this point. I stand back from the painting, or even view it in a mirror. I begin painting using a mixture of Ultramarine Blue and Flinders Red Violet, and block in the shape of the gum tree. The paint is applied thinly without turps. The background is quickly painted with Raw Sienna, Viridian, Flinders Blue Violet and White – with more Violet on the further hill to enhance the illusion of distance. Venetian Red is the dominant colour of the dam wall and is also introduced into the foreground grass – in keeping with the theory that warm colours advance and cool colours recede. The sky is painted in (including around the gum tree).
STEP THREE
The sky is completed. Generally, I will paint the sky in layers – working from the horizon line with a cooler blue and mixing in a warmer blue towards the top of the picture plane. In this instance I have used Cobalt Blue (cool) and Ultramarine Blue (warm) plus lots of Titanium White. The sky at the top of the painting is closest to the observer and a warmer and slightly darker blue enhances this effect. Do not forget that the sky indicates the prevailing weather conditions and, as such, the mood of the scene in general. A sunny sky will result in a landscape that contains shadows, and shadows are created with tonal variation.
STEP FOUR
The dominant shadow is that cast by the tree across the earth of the dam. Objects are still visible within an area of shadow, and I would never use pure Black paint. Here I have mixed Ultramarine Blue with Venetian and Pilbarra Red. The gum tree, which is greyish green, is painted with a mix of Raw Sienna, Ultramarine Blue, Flinders Red Violet, Viridian and White. I have painted in some darker clumps of grass, in the foreground, using Ultramarine Blue and Pilbarra Red..
STEP FIVE
Changes to the foreground are continuing as I have introduced warmer and slightly darker tones to the existing colours. The tree is further developed and the trunks and branches completed. At this point I feel that the painting is a little lacking in some way – perhaps in regard to highlights. One possible solution to a lack of ‘light’ lights is to darken the darks – thereby making the lights appear lighter.
STEP SIX
I have reintroduced some darker tones into the body of the tree. Additional clouds are painted and some little points of interest added into the middle ground, including a distant barn and sheep tracks. As a lead in, I have painted an indication of a sheep track on the lower right.
FINAL STEP
Despite having already changed the foreground, as per Step 5, I have again made further alterations – this time painting in bands of warm colour after scraping off excess paint from prior efforts. The foliage of the gum tree has also been lightened slightly, except for the dark areas of shadow. Before the painting has even dried, I have placed it in a frame for a final appraisal … and I will leave it there for several weeks as this allows me time to hopefully pick up any faults and correct them.
