Notes On Oil Painting 6.2009

Burning the Midnight Oil

Notes on Oil Painting with Tonal Composition and Colour Composition

by

Terry Clare Northern Promontory Plein Air Painters 1

2 Northern Promontory Plein Air Painters

Burning the Midnight Oil

Notes on Oil Painting with

Tonal Composition and

Colour Composition Traditional Australian Impressionist Academic Realist Wet in wet Painting techniques

Northern Promontory Plein Air Painters 3

With the arrival of acrylics and other paint technologies the traditional technique for oil paint is being over looked.

ISBN. 978-0-646-48170-8 copyright Published and printed by Terry Clare Thornleigh, 2120. Sydney N.S.W. Australia phone.612 . 9945 1445 [email protected]

Copyright May be used for non profit lessons or private learning.

2006 4 Northern Promontory Plein Air Painters

CONTENTS

7

Introduction

8

To begin painting

10

Gear Palletes and Brushes

11

Basic Painting Technique

13

To start a painting

14

Palette Layout

15

Extra Points to make easier

17

The layers of a painting

18

Analogous Colour mixing

19

Complimentary Colour mixing

20

Basic Tones and Compositions

21

Colour Wheel and Colour Compositions

24

Puddle mixing

26

Ebauche pallete

28

Mix browns and greys

30

Just in passing

31

Closing notes

34

Outdoor Check list

35

Pigments & Hazardous Materials

36

Gesso ground for canvas

37

Subject Matter to paint

38

Steps for Antique or Sculptural Drawing

39

Guide for Pricing Oil Paintings

Northern Promontory Plein Air Painters 5

Inside the Breakwater Brooklyn

Into the Wharf Clifton Gardens

6 Northern Promontory Plein Air Painters

by Terry Clare

by Terry Clare

Introduction It was while I was an Office Machine Mechanic in 1950 repairing rebuilding and servicing office duplicators that I developed a liking for pulling things to pieces and putting them back together to see how they worked. It also entailed wandering around the city streets giving rise to many opportunities to visit many of the little galleries and art shops dotted around Sydney town at that time. Along with surfing and football, I persued an interest in psychology philosophy and the art of painting and over the years I have come to admire all those great painters who could juggle all the multiple aspects of art work and painting to create a masterpiece. There were and still are many who do this, juggling colour, composition, drawing, and all the aspects and disciplines neccesary to bring them all together creating a work of value and attractive beauty. The belief arose amongst many progressive artists that once you learnt the rules and techniques of master artists, you were not emotionally or spiritually able to enjoy it your work and it is was not entirely free, resulting in a stilted approach and everyone producing similar pictures. Another group of artists believes that one should serve a long apprenticeship to understand all the many aspects of arts disciplines, then to use these skills, enjoying and creating a free and skilled beautiful work of art. There is again a large group somewhere in between. There will always be those who can with great simplicity throw a bucket of paint or draw a swashbuckling line with great artistic expression and theatrical result . Those who do it successfully have usually completed a lengthy apprenticeship somewhere.

Japanese art is a good example

and has been a source of inspiration for impressionists and many other successful artists, but one cannot realistically expect to execute such a discipline without proper full understanding of the technique and training involved.

Northern Promontory Plein Air Painters 7

Aspiring to be an Artist Then begin a painting When deciding to begin painting, you may accept change or reject any advice given in this publication, or by anyone for that matter, as it is the perogative of any thinking individual or artist to develop their own style gathering bits from everywhere. On starting an imminent masterpiece, decisions have to be been made on the painting you want, and are about to create, assuming you are in the pursuit of truth, beauty, justice, the Australian way, aesthetics, eloquence and colour permanence. Considering this you will now select: 1. The subject 2. Size of the canvass 3. Texture of canvass, rough, medium or smooth 4. Medium i.e. oils acrylics watercolour tempera casein glue or combination in artist quality. 5. Technique of glazes wet in wet impasto or combination 6. Composition of the painting. 7. You may even consider the type of frame you think appropriate at this stage. The above points also include colour balance, tonal balance, movement flow or direction, rhythm of the shapes, centre of attention, proportion or drawing, underlying structure, form or modelling, perspective, direction of light, quality colour of light, planes, shadow areas, shape of negative areas, linea recession, tonal recession, colour recession, simplicity or unity and how to keep it, and are best worked out beforehand. Usually in a study or during your initial wash in. Consider next that your composition is turpsed or drawn in, your colours are laid out and you go to pick up your brush to start, these decisions start to enter your mind. 1.

Do I need a clean palette

2.

What size brush 1-12

3.

Texture or what type brush, hog sable synthetic palette knife, finger or sharpened brush handle

4.

What shape brush square filbert round fan long short or cut brush

5.

Which edge of the brush will I use

6.

What colours do I lay out on my palette

7.

What colour or hue or which pigments make up the colour

8.

What are intensity of the pigment colours so I can mix the right amounts

8.

Is it transparent or opaque colour

10. Tone is it light or dark enough 11.

Value is it hot or cold enough

12. Am I mixing this colour on the canvass or palette 8 Northern Promontory Plein Air Painters

13. Stiffness does it need a medium. or, if a colour is already there will it go over the remaining paint 14. Which medium will I use, oil turps or liquin. i.e. Is this an under colour intermediate or final layer 15. How much colour to mix to finish the passage and needed left over 16. How much paint needed on the brush 17. Do I need to clean the brush before during or after the stroke or strokes 18. Broken colour will I pick up two colours at once or paint two next to, or on top of each other 19. Will I use a firm or light pressure i.e. scumble glaze or direct passage i.e. (coup de grace) 20. How much will I angle the brush 21.

Fast or slow speed stroke

22. Long or short strokes or combination of spots or lines or stabs considering the drawing 23. Thickness and colour of the stroke considering perspective and drawing 24. Direction and colour of the stroke considering going around or along form and overall stroke pattern and attitude of line 25. Number of pats to flatten or smooth a stroke 26. Sharp edge or lost edge stroke 27. How do I hold the brush will I use overarm pencil or thumb up grip 28. Will I need a mahl stick to support the brush or just with two hands or now wait till the wind stops blowing These decisions can be simplified or put in sequence using a combination of speed painting and impressionist technique used in varying degrees and fashions. Now! Lets see if we can get rid of any confusion by organizing this into steps or a simple technique we can follow.

Northern Promontory Plein Air Painters 9

Gear Palettes and Brushes

Use good quality brushes when painting and clean them in a tin of pure turps every so often, specially when they get muddy. Wipe clean on a Toilet Roll Flat Hog Bristle brushes. No. 12, 10, 8, 6, 4, 2, & 1. Flat Hog Filbert Hog Bristle No.6, 2, 1.(for getting in round areas) Round sables 1 each No. 3, & 1. (for fine lines & finishing) Avoid Student colours. Use Artist quality. They go more than twice as far and are neccesary to make intense and dark colour. They produce a rich full glossy paint surface. Even now they are not all that reliable these days. Students colour looks flat, pale & chalky. See a full list or everything on Page 34 You can get by with a simple paint box and easel until you can afford a French Easel which is really a basic paint tool for outdoor work. brush Use a brush holder of some sort when Painting. It will h o l d e r help you organize everything and keep your hands Made from clean. Clean hands means you may live longer. Use plastic a hand cleaner or drain gloves. Oil paints are pipe toxic. We don’t use Flake White any more (pure lead) Too many casualties.

PAINT STORAGE The tray slides into a box. Put it in the freezer in 2 plastic bags. Will keep indefinitely. Fits into a folding pallete which fits in a French easel. Or can be transported in its own carrier box.

A PICTURE OF A ROLLING EASEL Monet used a wheelbarrow. I’m sure ease and mobility are important. It takes a white umbrella that can be secured with thin tent ropes if windy. 10 Northern Promontory Plein Air Painters

First a Basic Painting Technique

Wet in wet impasto

Several points to start with These are basics to start painting. Please vary to suit personal preferences The idea of wet in wet painting is to finish a painting in one sitting while the paint is wet. Use a well gessoed canvass to absorb your turps drawn composition. 2-4 coats Pure turps from a hardware store is OK. Add a very small amount of Mastic varnish to assist adhesion or use Pure Turps from the art shop. Paint your composition in tonally with a turps wash and earth colour, covering the whole canvass adding local dark colours and shadow colouring to the earth colour. Don’t leave any white areas. Unless using a tinted canvas. Local colour is the colour of something in a normal light. Use a turpsy cloth to make corrections until drawing and suggested tone and composition are what you want. Turps will even correct a pencil draw in. Let the turps dry for a while The centre of interest should lie somewhere in the central one third portion of the canvas Everything else should diminish as it moves away from the centre of interest. Tone, colour, light and definition of drawing. This is the most important part of starting a painting. Paintings ranging in the two thirds tonally dark are considered more attractive based on the theory that you can’t have light without dark i.e. you get more contrast. Some impressionists ignore this as old fashioned and use bright shadows. Choose your subject to paint. Have an idea of the composition - colour - emotive aspect. BASICS You may follow a favourite artist’s painting as a guide FAT (medium) over LEAN (turps) thick layer over thin as long as you change the subject. Copies are opaque over transparent light over dark unacceptable in exhibitions. Most artists have a sharp edges over soft favourite master or two. 3. small brush - light tones thin consistency -

thick size layer

Three Steps. After the turpsed in image showing 2. medium size brush - mid tones med. consistency - med. size thickness layer composition drawing tone colour suggestions and large brush - dark tones centre of interest. Parts of this can show through the 1. thick consistency - thin size layer finished work and become part of the painting. 3 1. First coat. Prepare a suitable dark mix considering the 123456789012345678901234567 123456789012345678901234567 123456789012345678901234567 subject’s local colour, it’s distance and quality (add blue 123456789012345678901234567 2 123456789012345678901234567 1 for distance) plus (colour of sunset, morning, canvas maybe tinted - turps wash spring or storm for quality) Add a bit of turps ................................................... and Liquin or Gel Medium. Using a relatively large brush, broad strokes, block in all the dark tones, shadows of local colour to cover the whole canvass. Use turps in small amounts. “Smooth Gel Medium Archival” is OK. At this stage Vary the dark tones for form (show roundness) as well as the shadows. Warm in the foreground and distance is cooler. The lightest colour has a shadow, like grass or water or flat planes in sunlight. Usually a darker colour of the subject. Don’t use any sharp edges at this stage. Northern Promontory Plein Air Painters 11

Try to imagine the whole painting and each stroke at every stage (Looking at the working technique of an artists work you admire may assist.) This first layer is Thick in consistency Thin in the amount of paint layer Use just a bit of turps if necessary (no oil) Some Smooth Gel or Liquin is OK Oil in the first layer causes cracking later due to shrinking after the top layer dries (fat over lean works) Dark paint can overpower a colour added later, so only a thin layer of thick paint then more paint can be put on top. Scrape it off if too thick If you can get your tonal recession, local colour, and form into the darks at this stage, then you only have to worry about getting the same in the next layer mid tones, one tonal range at a time. Makes for a convincing picture The camera records tonal and colour variations in the lights tones. The human eye sees colour and tonal variation much better the in the darks. Careful please when using photos. This dark painting or moonscape allows you to envisage the final work better and see correct tones and convincing colours to paint over the top later. It sets the stage for the whole painting. Tone is more important than colour in a painting. Colour can be used to impart romantic subjectivity by toning every colour with a key colour, romantic lighting etc. Key up your hue colours slightly to allow for fading when paint dries. Wet colour looks brighter than dry. Old paint looks duller than fresh. Which is why the painting is varnished later but you still need to exaggerate colour slightly right through the painting to allow for later fading. 2. Middle coat middle tones middle amount of medium (oil or gel), middle size of paint layer middle consistency, medium size brushes. A small amount of oil. You can add a bit to your turps dipper at this stage. Remember your drawing with a brush. Put it on, don’t skate around. Follow the direction of the forms with your brush. Hot dark tones in foreground cool lighter mid tones in distance Let the subject suggest the technique. Imagine the paint stroke before you jump in Look 3 times, think twice, paint once. Test the colour on another piece first. Emphasis edges with slightly warm against cooler variations and slightly darker against lighter variations. 3. Final coat Thick layer of thin paint. By now your previous layers will have set slightly. Light tones of various colours. Warm lights at front cool lights in distance Vary the light tones for form. Most medium with thick application of paint Smallest sized brushes. Paint the highlights. When painting be aware of your centre of interest. This where Highest chroma or colour. Sharpest edges. Lightest lights and darkest darks Most detail. Premiere coup or final strokes are. Thickest impasto. No skating here please unless you are blending edges. Note If a large area or item in the picture is a predominately bright clean transparent colour ..say..reds yellows greens or transparent purples i.e. some exotic tree paintings, flowers, glass and water. Then it is best to leave an area of white canvas for the transparent colour to be put in pure first or later on. Turps wash in pure colour then put in the clean transparent colour. Painting the slightly darker pure colours carefully into that building to darker tones gradually later. 12 Northern Promontory Plein Air Painters

FAT (medium) over LEAN (turps) thick layer over thin opaque over transparent light over dark - soft edges to sharp

Example to start painting Can be used wet in wet or let dry between layers

3. small brush

light tones thin consistency - thick size layer

Plan your composition with a

2. medium size brush - mid tones med. consistency - med. size thickness layer

turps wash

1.

Ink or draw in important edges or fine brush Choose the colour composition for each layer using colour wheel seen below

large brush - dark tones thick consistency - thin size layer

3

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1

Layer 1. Soft edges all blended. Layer 1. Darks 7.8.9. hot & cold Layer 1. Hot dark 2:1 Cold dark 1:2 Raw Sienna Raw Sienna Burnt Sienna Cobalt Layer 2. Defined edges blend slightly with dry brush. Layer 2. Hot mid 2:1 Cold mid 1:2 Lt. Red Cad Red Yellow Ochre Cobalt Layer 2. Mid tones 4.5.6. hot & cold Layer 3. Premier coup pristine strokes. Unless soften for a glow Layer 3. Highlights 1.2.3. hot & cold Layer 3. Hot lights 2:1 Cold lights 1:2 Yellow Och. Yell Och Cad Yell Lemon/Cobalt

Re

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1:1

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Da Pu rk - L re - S ight ad

1:2

foreground 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789 ot 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789 H ot 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789 H 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789 d 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789 ot ot ol 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789 H C 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789 H 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789 d 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789 d 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789 ol ot 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789 ol C H 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789 d 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789 C 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789 ol 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789 C 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789 d 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789 ol 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789 C 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789

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Tonal proportion selection

1

9

2

8

3

7

4

6

5

5

distance The Ebauche Palette can come into play to set and mix the proportion of greys and browns to the amount of pure colour. In order to control browns and grey you can use it thinly in your underpainting and add the colour later. i.e. Dark grey green or brown shadows in skin tones etc.

Use pure colour for direct light, sky, flowers, birds foreground etc

ald

dY ello w

1:3

D Pu ark re - L - S ig ad ht

Cobalt Blue

Light Dark - Sad Pure

d

ge an Or

Ult ra Blu e

e rpl Pu

Ca

Yellow Orange

Aliziarin Red

canvas maybe tinted ................................................... turps wash

ee

n

Ca

Gr

Use some plan together with a study of the subject to apportion w Vir o Pure colour Browns & Greys ll idia Ye n m e in unequal amounts L Lime Yellow remember the golden mean Let the subject suggest the technique, Split Compliment selection setting on wheel tones, colour composition, movement, select the Tone & Shade & Pure position etc. Catch the moment using the each in separate proportions rules of engagement. Northern Promontory Plein Air Painters 13

dl Co t Ho

Palette Layout

for a right handed painter

Premixed Colour le ne lt Composition ari an urrp a d P m b i d o ir ra t V C l Ca U d ed er e d t dR mb Re nR U a i Ca Lt es k aw Ind r R Da ge ran O d Ca llow re Ye ○ ○ ch d ○ ○ llO Ca e ○ ○ Y n m mo Le t itaniuhite s T W hte rin

○ ○ ○

za Ali

Lig

For say a landscape painting, after the turps in and the scrub in and after the colour composition had been chosen, the first area to paint would be the sky. The first puddle would be a white base then dragging the colours in from the palette.

hot and cold - light and dark light tones, following your colour composition.

Save any colours left over when finished. Then clean the mixing area. The second puddle to paint the middle ground and the middle tones may be decided as a Blue with a bit of Raw Umber with a touch of white base colour and draw the colours in from the palette around to the edge of the puddle to mix nice -

hot and cold - light and dark mid tones, following your colour composition. Save any colours left over when finished. Then clean the mixing area. . The third puddle for the fore ground may be started with say a dark mix of Ultramarine Raw Umber and touch of Alizarin. to make hot and cold - light and dark tones, following your colour composition. Save any colours left over when finished. Then clean the mixing area. As a leading art teacher told me that before applying the paint to you ask yourself..... Is it the right colour, is it the right tone, is it in the right place. i.e. drawing

....Warwick Fuller or as another leading art teacher said to my attempt to paint in a cow “ That’s a lovely dog you have got in there.” ........Robert Wilson On appraising your almost finished painting you may decide to add another puddle mixture or to utilise the left over colours from previous mixes.

14 Northern Promontory Plein Air Painters

Extra points to make painting easier Give your canvas an extra 2 coats of matt gesso ground if you use a shop brand canvas BASICS FAT (medium) over LEAN (turps) Painting on a tinted canvas ..similar to pastels...makes thick layer over thin opaque over transparent the turps wash easier. Just add highlights and darks light over dark Warm up with a drawing or small study of the sharp edges over soft subject...know where you’re going. 3. small brush - light tones Spend plenty of time looking at your subject before thin consistency - thick size layer starting. 2. medium size brush - mid tones med. consistency - med. size thickness layer Think about the painting you are going to do the 1. large brush - dark tones next day before you go out. thick consistency - thin size layer Lay your palette out tonally. Mix up some of your basic shade colours and darks. 3 123456789012345678901234567 123456789012345678901234567 W Y O R P B G and Black I.E. White, Yellow, Orange, Red, 123456789012345678901234567 2 123456789012345678901234567 Purple, Blue, Green, Black (a mix of alizarin, viridian, 1 ultramarine) Ordered same as the rainbow canvas maybe tinted - turps wash ................................................... (roygbiv) Plus earth colours i.e. Yellow Ochre, Indian Yellow, Raw Sienna, Lt Red, Bnt Sienna, Bnt Umber, Raw Umber. Artist quality please. Only 1 to 3 earth colours are usually needed. Look 3 times .think twice.. paint once...then leave it. If its wrong scrape and add correct colour, tone and drawing. Don’t over mix colour ..it goes flat and lifeless If a mix goes wrong put it to one side to use elsewhere If the painting looks wrong ..wipe or scrape it off. Visualize painting a passage before you actually do it ..see the imaginary colours Your subconscious imagination will work on it in the back of your mind Let the subject suggest the technique .. paint around form....Follow the direction of planes. For brush direction ..size ..type...imagine it Some subjects are best painted with an old splayed brush ..tree foliage, cloud, wash ins Some artist end up with a cow brush a foliage brush etc. even sometimes bricking a brush to splay it A medium in your second and third layer can be Art Spectrum N0. 3, or linseed oil. New synthetic mediums (Alkyds) are best used early in a painting, they speed up drying i.e. Art Spectrum Smooth gel, Windsor Newton Liquin. Best in lower first and second layers. Use buttery paint....lay it on......little to no scrubbing (except in the first stage) ..define your brush strokes Check your painting for white holes or gaps as you go. The original turps in or wash serves to hide these and can become part of the finished painting. Assists one stroke or premiere coup effects. Clean your palette every time it gets muddy or between stages. Collect for use in greys later.

The Authour Outdoors

Northern Promontory Plein Air Painters 15

Clean your brush often.. Use a big 500ml tin of pure turps plenty of tissue, a toilet roll is handy and rag in a plastic bag hanging of your easel. (you’ll need less brushes) Take your rubbish with you if outdoors. Keep plenty of paint on your palette..store it in a reasonable size flat tin, ply or a piece of formica that fits on your palette later, when finished ..put in a box or wrap it in plastic ..stored in the freezer fridge it last months. You can instead submerge it under water in a tray. Charge your palette with colour before going to paint. Poppy Oil can be used instead of Linseed to slow down drying time. If your paint is old and stiff...work it up with a pallete knife before hand, some medium can be necessary, some tubes of paint are thicker than others and need adjusting. Some are slow driers add Smooth Gel. i.e. Titanium white, Lemon dry slow. Raw Umber dries fast. Stop every couple of hours or less ..turn your painting upside down to rest the eyes or look at it in a make up mirror over your shoulder. A mirror hung on the ceiling behind you at the right angle is best in studios. Wear a hat or tennis shade...to see better even indoors. If you shade your eyes with your hand you will see why. Wear dark clothing or apron to reduce reflection on working surface. Work under shade or turn easel around into the light. Don’t paint into sun on reflected water too long ..or near ants. Sunglasses can save your eyes, wear them as long as possible, headaches from glare can damage your eyes. . cataracts are common amonst outdoor workers. If the colour hue is too bright add the compliment and or earth colour. Add light blue for distance. Transparent paint will go dark when you add whiteor any opaque colour. To mix a transparent optical Black use Alizarin, Viridian, Ultramarine and a little earth like Raw or Burnt Sienna. Makes colourful greys. Ivory or lamp black is best used at the end of a painting. Black can be used insead of blue to make purple or green. It is often used in portraiture. It tends to darken in time and should be sealed between dried layers with varnish. Medium greys mix is, Cad red and Cerulean. Don’t over mix. Add an earth to make it opaque like light red or raw umber. Opaque paint is darker than transparent. Raw Umber speeds up drying time. Gel medium speeds drying as well. Poppy Oil slows drying. Don’t mix your colour too hard or they will go dead. You arrive at favourite mixes after familiarisation. Remember, thick consistency paint on your brush picks up a thinner mixture from off the canvas, less paint picks up more. Applying a larger amount of a thinner paint than what’s on the canvass covers it. Painting and art can only be learned by doing it. Learning to swim from a book can induce drowning..........Brush miles only can improve your work....keep some of your best work to measure progress and to show your work. You will know when you are progressing because you will have enough old paintings to start a good bonfire. Check the regulations in your area. Compare your work with your favourite artist. Work out his sequence of approach. Then create your own. Study the amount of greys and browns in your favourite paintings compared to pure strokes. Painters are basically self taught. Paint 50 paintings then compare your progress Keep your best paintings to show your high standard. Don’t sell them till you have better work to show. Points to remember.....there are no parallel lines in nature (or the figure) .....equal spaces shapes or sizes.... all is a pleasant inequality set in a changing rhythm. (like music) Look for the rhythm attitude and pleasant inequalities in a repeating pattern or series of objects or lines. 16 Northern Promontory Plein Air Painters

All the layers of a wet in wet Oil Painting 7

Picture Varnish

6

Retouch Varnish for dull spots and over painting

5

after 1 yr. when paint is completly dry

THIRD LAYER Oil Paint thin consistency - thick size layer - small brushes light tones - some hard edges - opaque highlights - more oil medium - transparent glazes 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678

4

SECOND LAYER Oil Paint med. consistency - med. size thickness layer - med. size brush - mid tones - find some edges - semi opaque paint - little medium 1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567

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3

FIRST LAYER Oil Paint thick consistency - thin size layer - large brush dark tones - soft edges - transparent paint - no oil 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345

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2 1

FIRST Turps Wash to estabish painting composition Well gessoed surface minimum 3 layers to absorb turps wash and hold the first layer of paint. Canvas can be tinted with a turps wash of earth colours if preferred.

A

We should mention here that the canvas has a layer of Rabbit Skin Glue or lately PVA (i.e. Chemstick or Bondcrete) to protect the linen or cotton from the oil.

.........................canvas................................ NOTE: When a painting has been allowed to dry between layers, glazes can be applied at any stage between 3 & 6 before picture varnishing. Some artists oil a painting when it is dry (after 1 month minimum) with a mixture of turps and retouch varnish with linseed oil, then wipe of any excess. You hold the painting at an angle to reflect the light onto the wet oil to see that it is even.

View of Sydney from Hunters Hill by Terry Clare Northern Promontory Plein Air Painters 17

Analogous colour mixing Mix 2:1 with the colour either side then one further either side to right, plus white This may be used to make am analagous colour wheel

Aliziarin

Pu

e rpl

Ca dm ium

w

e

w Blu

w

ne Ult

w w

w

w

ge

w

w w

w w

w

Cobalt Blue

w w

w

w w

Yellow Orange

w

w

w

w w

w

w

is uo urq To

w

w w

w

d Ca

n ee Gr

w

Ye llow

ram

w

an

ari

Or

w

w

w w Vir id

w ian

Lime Yellow

m Le low

lYe n o

Using the same method you may make a brown and grey wheel using Earth colours. Mix your own colours to familarise the effects pigments make on eachother. They don’t always react as expected. Some have more staining power and others react chemically to eachother. See page 35. 18 Northern Promontory Plein Air Painters

Complimentary colour mixing Use this colour wheel version to make interesting tertiary colours by mixing each 2:1 with its compliment (opposite)...then once removed (either side) from the compliment....then mix with white (tint) Example: * Alizarin + Lime 2:1 then Aliz + Viridian and Aliz + Lemon then Just a bit of white with each to see the tint Us this to make your own Complimentary Wheel. Aliziarin

rp Pu

Ca dm ium

le

w

e

w Blu

w

w

w

w

w

w w

w w

w

Cobalt

w w

w

w w

Yellow

w

w

w

w w

w

w

w

w

d

w

Ca

n ee Gr is uo urq To

w

w Ye llow

ari Ult

w

ge

ram

w

an

ne

w

Or

w

w w Vir id

w m Le

ian

on

Lime Yellow

Using a similar colour wheel Earth Colurs in hue sequence can be used to make greys and browns. Yellow Ochre - Indian Yell ow - Raw Sienna - Light Red - Indian Red Burnt Sienna - Burnt Umber - Raw Umber - Black Black may be substituted for Blue if you wish..The Old Masters used Black. Blue was too expensive.

Black can still make nice greens and purples. Northern Promontory Plein Air Painters 19

Distance....Cooler Low contrast

Nine basic tones Accurate tones are the secret to realistic painting....They convey the truth of a picture, whether it is real or not. Colour can be subdued or exagerated. Not so tone. Nine tones are arrived at by subdividing black and white and it’s subsequent tones

1 5

5

6

4

7

3

8

2

9

1

2 3 4 5 6

Arranged for arial perspective

7 8 9

Foreground. .Warm High contrast

TONAL COMPOSITION Using just the 3 basic tones for simplicity arranged in the proportion of 1:3:5 a popular formular for pleasant tonal visual realationship based on the golden mean 22:7 then converting this to a circular format we arrive at 6 possible variations. Six pleasant tonal picture possibilities.

20 Northern Promontory Plein Air Painters

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Colour Wheel similar to used by Howard Pyle (American) as outlined by Andrew Loomis An Oriental influence in colour, using an extra yellow shade in the colour wheel, was used by many impressionists This contains: A. The basics of pure colour mixing, using a hot and cold of the each primary colour to make a clean secondary colour. B. Gives a truer opposite or complimentary colours. and C. Warmer colour wheel. The colours in this wheel are not accurate Please use as a guide only

Analogous colour compositions and Complimentary colour compositions Too much pure colour of similar tone is gaudy ....These basic colour compositions incorporating colourful greys and browns in tones and hues will produce better pictures.

Complimentary

Double Compliment

Triadic

Analogous Variation

Analogous

Monochromatic

Triadic variation

Split Compliment

A colours chroma can be heightened by surrounding it with an outline of its compliment. Split compliment variation Complimentary variation A tone can be lightened or darkened by putting an outline of dark or light colour around it These two practices can be combined. When you consider the variations available to consider, you can understand why many artists planned a painting beforehand. Every colour interacts with the others. If you study closely the paintings you find attractive, you can evaluate parts that if removed would detract severely if not included. You can have a lot of fun trying out different combinations using coloured paper, tiles, stones whatever and moving them around. Pastels are handy for experimenting. Northern Promontory Plein Air Painters 21

Select a Tonal Composition 1 2 or 3 Making Dark Colour Cold Black = Raw Umber. Viridian. Aliz / Hot Black = Brnt Sien. Aliz. Cobalt Mixed blacks and greys are called optical. Use the transparent compliment of each colour

TINTS

1

HUES

2

or

3

DARKS

MEDIUM

LIGHT

*

Y

*

*

O

*

*

R

*

*

V

*

*

B

*

*

G

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16 17

* 18

BROWN

GREY

Choose either DARK TONE MEDIUM or LIGHT

MEDIUM

LIGHT

DARK

Y

*

O

*

R

*

V

*

B

*

G

*

2

3

5

6

8

9

10 12 13 14 15 18

HUES TINTS

18 YG Emerald 17 G 16 BG Viridian 15 GB Torquois 14 B Cobalt 13 VB 12 BV Ultram 11 V Violet 10 RV

9 VR Alizarin 8 R CadRed 7 OR 6 CadOra 5 4 CadYell 3 Lemon 2

RO O YO OY Y

GREY

LIGHT HUES TINTS

DARK

MEDIUM

Y

O

R

V

B

G

2

5

8

10

13

15

BROWN

GREY

1

22 Northern Promontory Plein Air Painters

2

or

3

Lime 1 GY

BROWN

SIMPLER TONAL PALLETE

7 hues each 5 tones

based on the ebauche

Warm Grey

Mixed Black Virid+Purple+Aliz RawUmber +Aliz

Cold Grey

BntSienna +Viridian

CadRed

LtRed +Touquoise

CadOrange

IndianYellow +Purple

CadYellow

YellOchre +Purple

Lemon

RawSienna +CadRed

Viridan

BntUmber +Orange

Cobalt

Raw Sienna +Viridian Darkest

CadPurple Tonally Modified with Compliment or Earth Colour

Pure Hue Tube Colour

Lightest

Above is a tonal approach used by the Max Meldrum Method using impessionist colour mixing without Ivory Black . Ivory Black can still be used to make a nice purple or green with yellow if you wish. Primary colours can be changed for other basics Red Yellow or Blues. Basic hues are darkend with complimentary earth colours and usual complimentary hue colour Northern Promontory Plein Air Painters 23

Colour of shadows A shadow can contains 4 colours. 1. The local colour (natural colour of the object in a normal light) 2. the reflected colour (from the sky or ground or nearby object) 3. Plus a darker version of the same colour or analogous colours close to it to make it darker 4. plus add the compliment to darken.

Colour or lights A light colour can contain 5 colours. 1. The local colour, 2. the colour of the light source, 3. the reflected colour, and 4. an analogous colour for vibration (along side not mixed in) 5.plus white. Monet placed these colours side by side rather than mixing them or scumbled over the top to get his dazzling effects. Other painters realised you could get an optical effect by not mixing colours to often with the brush to obtain another colour often called broken colour. It gave an effect similar to a the marbeling technique.used by book binders where they stirred colours floated on top of water with a comb.

Puddle mixing for wet

in wet impasto painting Choose your colour scheme... mix a puddle for each layer - clean palette each time Clean your brush in turps if necessary Plenty of rags and tissue. (toilet roll)

Some samples Viridian

Bnt Sienna

Light Red Aliziarin Ultra Blue

Ultra Blue + Raw

Aliz +

Yellow Ochre Cad Yellow

Aliziarin

Cobalt MEDIUMS

DARKS First layer

Second layer

Lemon LIGHTS Third layer

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

Mix up plenty of colour to finish the job with some over. Keep your colour clean Don’t over mix. Scrape the palette if things are getting dull. Clean your brush often with tissue or toilet roll - keep rags handy- use a large tin of turps to clean your brushes in. Paint like a millionaire.

2

○

○

4

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

1 ○

○

○

○

○

3 ○

○

The basis of the puddle No.1 is called the key, mother, dominant or basic colour.

24 Northern Promontory Plein Air Painters

Puddle Mix Example 1 in colour

(Trying to match the colours of Emmanuel Phillips Fox) see next page Other artists I use for study are David Davies, Charles Conder, Auther Streeton, Walter Withers, James Jackson, more recently Doug Sealy, Kasey Sealy, Warick Fuller, Robert Wilson 1. DARK TONES - Light Red + Raw Umber with: Aliziarin Cobalt

Viridian

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

4

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

DARKS layer 1

Light Red+Burnt Sienna

○

○

○

○

○

○

1

3

2

2 MID TONES - Yellow Ochre + Indian Yellow with: Aliz Cobalt Cad Yellow

ll Ye d+ Re ht Lig

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

MEDIUMS layer 2

Oc

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

h

3 LIGHT TONES - White + Indian Yellow with: Alizarin Cad Red Cobalt Blue Cad Yellow

○

lo Ye l n ia nd ○

+I

○

○

te

○

○

hi

○

○

○

○

W

○

○

○

w

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

LIGHTS layer 3

Northern Promontory Plein Air Painters 25

Ebauche Palette Sample of a layout This is a planned method of painting in the studio The same basic hues are laid out to mix the shades in the approximate amounts about to be used in the composition a Tones and hues are arrived at by dividing and mixing-----a a Each artist varied in his arrangement. Techniques varied

a

G

Lig ht t oD ark

IB

V

R

+9

O

ck

Y

a a

bla

greys

es to

turps

ton

Y VRO I B Ga m o hr c rk s da ur o l co e b tu Da rk t to igh l white light t white one

browns white

Brown can be greyed. Care is taken to avoid mud. No over mixing. Their should be the appearance of some colour in browns and greys to be interesting. Premiere coupe or one stroke. Scrape and repeat if not correct. A limited pallet means that .....not all the hues and combinations have to be used Greys and Browns are used to adjust the Tone and Chroma of Hues Each layer as it is finished can be allowed to dry for 8 days. Fat over lean. Several canvases may be worked on one after another. A thin layer of oil with medium retouch varnish or medium is applied before commencing an over painting. Lean varnish then fatter varnish as layers progress. Glazing using various clear varnishes and oil or mediums allow great control over gradual toning for figure and portraiture used by Old Masters. Used in conjunction with wet in wet scumbling or scraping can be effective. Used by Rembrabdt, Whistler 26 Northern Promontory Plein Air Painters

Keeping a simple palette layout You know at every stage what you are doing and why A look at the layout of an ebauche palette used for portraiture in the 19th century shows you how they planned ahead and mixed only the colours they needed for the job Some artists used ...a brown green or grey or both with colour ebauche. Transparent glazing with oil and varnish was also used. It became more highly coloured during the impressionist period becoming more wet in wet opaque impasto painting. The ebauche was allowed to dry between layers, then sometimes scraped back a number of times and used as a guide for final work. Parts of the ebauche were often left as part of the final painting. For skin effects a pinkish semi transparent glaze was used over green/ blue underpainting.

A simple version based on Delacroix’s palette White ..yellow.. orange.. red.. violet.. indigo.. blue.. green Light to dark in tube colours ...W Y O R V I B G lay out for pallette Then decending 3 tones of hot and cold grey and brown depending on the subject

Pallete layout for greys & darks mix using primary and secondry opposite each

other The BLUE TRIANGLE gives you an idea of how each colour can be blended with its opposite when laid out on the pallete this way.

Palette layout for brown and grey & dark mix (bottom 1/2 colours transposed to arrange mixing with opposites) move the BLUE TRIANGLE selector below to the chosen colour mix juane brillant yellow och indian yellow

lemon yellow cadmium yell

raw sienna

indian red

cad. orange cadmium. red alizarin

cad purple

Greys mixture span. Move selector around as needed cad purple

light red

ultramarine cobalt blue ceurelian

burnt sienna

viridian emerald green

burnt umber raw umber Northern Promontory Plein Air Painters 27

To mix browns geys and clean colour As there is a hot and cold of each primary colour, you can use the furtherest primaries to mix a sad secondry colour or closest to mix them as pure clean colour. Just move the selector to any pair of primary colours. There are more secondry colours than primaries Primary colours with some secondies make good browns. Secondry colours make nice greys

Browns Earth Colour

Primary Secondry Tube Colours

28 Northern Promontory Plein Air Painters

Opposites Mix to make greys

AN ELABORATE COLOUR WHEEL

GREYS

BROWNS TUBE COLOURS

SEMENT 1 TUBE COLOUR Pure

Darks mixed with tube colour if neccessary Medium+ White if necessary Lights + White if neccessary

SEGMENT 2 BROWNS

Darks. Tube colour + Compliment + Black if neccessary Medium. Tube colour + White if necessary Lights. White + tube colour

SEGEMENT 3 GREYS

Darks compliments mixed with tube colour Medium + White if neccesary Lights+ White if necessary

Use together with with colour composition on Page 20. and over next the page.

TUBE COLOURS 1. LY = Lemon Yellow 2. CY = Cadmium Yellow 3. O =Cad Orange 4. CadR = Cad Red 5. Aliz = Alizarin Red 6. P =purple 7. Ult = Ultramarine Blue 8. Cob = Cobalt Tourquoise 9. Emer = Emerald Green 10. Vir = Viridian 11. Lime =Lime BROWNS 1. JuanB = Juanne Brilliant 2. Y.Och = Yellow Ochre 3. In.Yell = Indian Yellow 4. Gld.Oc = Golden Ochre 5. R. S = Raw Sienna 6. Lt.R. = Light Red 7. I. R. = Indian Red 8. BSien = Burnt Sienna 9. BUmb = Burnt Umber 10. Rumb = Raw Umber 11. Peach or Ivory Black

Northern Promontory Plein Air Painters 29

Using the top three colour wheels, moveable dics can be swapped around to make the next three colour tonal compositions remembering that we have only 3 tonal variations. As long as the tones average out then the arrangement should work out.

Just in passing To get an idea of colour composition, choose your favourite artists paintings and document their colour comps. Use them to paint another subject. Monet and Picasso among others painted the same subjects many times over with clever variations to great effect arriving at exciting colour comps through trial and error. I can only assume that the practices of those times i.e. ebauche pallets and Old Master techniques , encouraged these painters to this kind of excessive masterful studies or endeavours. Many miles of thoughtful brush strokes were achieved. When looking closely at a reproduction of Delacroix’s palette I can only assume to a method of the technique used around these times which might have gone along these lines. 1 The study was painted. (many painted only one selected} 2 A colour scheme was selected (only after great consideration and trial) 3 The appropriate colours were laid out (if you had 2 an attractive assistant bon chance) These colours appeared in relatively small quantities, so further later addition may have been necessary 4 A painting was executed with clean bold brush strokes (premiere coupe} 5 A party was held until early hours of the morning to celebrate (pop gurgle gurgle) 1 6 A quick departure was arranged for next week to avoid the creditors {zoom zoom) Well.....times were hard Artists made very little money in those days unless adopted by a large generally overseas gallery or patron. Area 1 for Largest area of paint . Darks Medium or Lights depending on composition 3 Area 2 for second largest area of paint. Area 3 for smallest area. Derived from the Tonal combination selected Each area arranged hot to cold left to right.......Y O R V B G or your own preference Darkest to lightest were from top to bottom Suggest browns be warm.........to the left.........Greys cold ............to the right 30 Northern Promontory Plein Air Painters

Closing Notes Scumbling or the dragging of a colour over another on rough canvas to leave the underlying colour show through slightly, may be executed in later layers and must be left untouched. The same applies to broken colour or picking up 2 or 3 or even more colours at once and mixing slightly as applied. A bit like marbling in appearance. The rule usually (not always) used, is hot over cold, light over dark. Results are usually 50% accidental. Painting outdoors means the addition of linseed oil or Art Spectrum No. 3 Medium to your paint later on as it thickens on the palette which occurs faster in the summer specially for fine lines which usually occur last. Hang a plastic bag off your easel to dispose used paper wipes rags etc. Smear vaseline on tube necks to stop lids sticking. White umbrellas became popular for outdoor painting in the 1800s Monet used a wheelbarrow to carry his painting gear. Don’t spend too long looking at paintings you don’t like in books or galleries. They may lodge in your memory and rise to the surface in your own work. Only expose yourself to that work which has qualities or techniques you aspire to attain for yourself in your own work. Specially just before starting a painting. Train your creative memory by imagining the scene you may be studying or looking at in oil paints. Try changing the mood or colours of what you are observing in your minds eye or moving and objects around in compositions. Imagine it in pencil pastel charcoal watercolour and so on. Can be done while waiting for the bus. Major artists paint manufacturers in an effort to reduce the price of oil paints have increasingly used alkyds in the paint (a plastic that is soluble in oil i.e. smooth gel medium & Liquin) and cheaper pigment mixed with their paint formulas. This has altered the drying time (faster) and shelf life (shorter) of the products and their fade resistance. Dearer old formula Artists colours cost $15 to $30 a tube upwards. Gamblin, Bloncxs, Old Holland. Gamblin Gamvar varnish, a synthetic resin varnish developed in conjunction with the National Gallery in Washington, DC is used by conservators worldwide. This varnish will not yellow, crack, or dull with age as other, non-synthetic varnishes will, and thus it slows the aging process of the painting considerably. The drying time for colours proceed from Light (slowest) to Darks and earth Pigments (fastest) With Titanium White slowest to Raw Umber fastest This assists most oil painters who paint Light over Dark and will help prevent cracking. When painting Dark over light make sure there is Gel medium in the lights to increase drying. Or Poppy Oil in the darks to slow drying. To test the fade resistance of your different brand paints (specially reds) place a strip of canvas with a sample strip of each of your colours in a direct sunny window and cover half the sample with a strip of board. Compare the fading result of different brands. Northern Promontory Plein Air Painters 31

To evaluate your painting when working you must walk back 6-8 feet or 2 plus metres. If you cant use a small mirror over your left shoulder outdoors or a large mirror in the studio up high at the proper angle is appropriate. Some artist use a dark glass to view the painting to check tone. Don’t let abstract artists say to you “Show me something interesting” or its all been done before. Every painting is different. It takes the greatest difficulty to copy something exactly and a great deal of time and care. Even the same painting done by the same artist can be picked by an amateur. Monet Van Gough and Picasso painted the same thing many times with great success, changing it to suit a particular composition that came to mind, arriving at an effect by experimentation. Abstract artists like the term contemporary and modern often use rulers compasses printers and projectors with their painting, and are only interested in, and find interesting their own work or that of their closely knit group usually bohemian in nature. Partying, promiscuity, alcohol and drugs use are often associated with modern artistic pursuits. I’m not saying realists are angels. A large abstract painting can be finished in 1-3 hours, leaving plenty of time for partying marketing, selling, teaching and anything else to make money. A Gallery can order 10 paintings from an abstract artist to be delivered in a week. The result is a massive rise in the number of people pursuing this avenue and a lot of bad work. Creativity is defined by abstractionists as something that has not been created before. This has resulted in some absurd behaviour in order to become recognised as a genius or true creative. There have been many exciting movements and changes in the last 100 to 1000 years. Many of these movements influenced each other but often did not have time to be persued to perfection. Going back in history there are many unfinished threads and styles yet to be combined or persued. Streeton, Roberts, MacCubbin, E P Fox, Knox, Gruner and many others carried on the work of impressionism and were the start of a new movement in Australia similar to many in other countries at that time. Many still pursue this direction and have polished it to a marvellously fine result. Unlike music, art techniques tend to get thrown out and are replaced with archaic practises. With music, jazz is still popular as is classical and past masterpieces are studied and their methods taught in the academies. There are many traditional Art Schools coming on-line as more artists seek this type of information.

There is no END to the evolution of creativity .

32 Northern Promontory Plein Air Painters

Check with your favourite artist for colour composition and mixing.

For Example: Emmanuel Phillips M Fox

Northern Promontory Plein Air Painters 33

OUTDOOR P AINTING CHECK LIST PAINTING Group

Plein Air

Basicsneccesary for Painting see Asterix* Check the weather is it 1 Wet 2 Hot 3 Cold 4 Windy

Oil Colour

Water colour

W&N (Basics*) Winsor Yellow or Cad pale yellow* Lemon cadmium Indian yellow* Yellow ochre* Aust red gold Cad scarlet* Aliziran* Perm rose madder Cerulean Cobalt Blue* French Ultramarine*

Windsor yellow “ red “ violet “ green Indian yellow Yellow ochre Cad . deep yellow Aerolian Cad. red Perm rose quincodrine Light red Venetian red Cerulean Manganese blue French ultra Cobalt Prussian blue Viridian Sepia Raw sienna Burnt sienna Raw umber Burnt umber Lamp black Water & sponges Gum paper Paper

Gear &Extras

Camping

Double Dipper* Canvas Panels* Paint Brush Holder* Mahl Stick* Hat/Eye Shade* Sunglasses* Block Out / zinc* Repellent* Arm Protectors* Liquid Soap*/Hand Lotion Rags* Roll Toilet Paper* (wipes) Lunch/*Thermos Juice or water Bottle* Pliers* Sketch Book*/Pencils Pencil Sharpener Pen knife Camera Folding stool* Sun / rain umbrella* Rope&Peg&Hammer Old Picture Frame Canvas Shoulder Bag EXTRAS Bottle Opener Water Esky Coat warm Jumper/Warm Gear Rain Coat/ brolly* Beret Dust Coat/ apron W’proofMatches Jar Vaseline* Old Newspaper to clean Brushes

Tent & poles Tent Peg Remover Folding table Windbreak Camp chair Mattress Sleeping bag Clock radio Toiletries Electric razor Mirror Torch & batteries Esky / food Camp stove Tin opener Camp dishes Mug & Spoons Tomahawk Tools Swimmers/Towel Clothes / jumper Gaiters First aid*

If I have left anything off let me know TC 34 Northern Promontory Plein Air Painters

Artists

Pigments

Colour

Chemical

Zinc White Titanium White Ultramarine Blue Strontium Yellow Aureolin English Vermillion Manganese Violet Flake White Indian Red Verdigris Cobalt Blue Viridian Green Lampblack Whiting Cadmium Yellow Barium White Emerald Green Antimony Yellow Aluminium Stearate

Zinc Titanium Sulphur Strontium Potassium Mercury Manganese Lead Iron Copper Cobalt Chromium Carbon Calcium Cadmium Barium Arsenic Antimony Aluminium

and

Hazardous

Materials

Source

Symbol

in oxide, silicate,sulfide, etc. abundant in rocks and clays volcanic & certain stratified rock chiefly from celestite & strontianite in wood ashes & many rocks occurs in nature chiefly as cinnabar associated with calcium, magnesium, etc found in galena & other ores as oxide & sulfide in many rocks widely distributed in ores occurs as metal in meteoric iron chiefly prepared from chrome-iron ore in organic matter as coal, graphite In limestone, marble, coral, etc small amounts in zinc ores found in combined form only, feldspar, mica, etc abundant in native & sulphide forms occurs in limestone, metallic ores, etc abundant in clay, feldspar, mica, etc

Zn Ti S Sr K Hg Ma Pb Fe Cu Co Cr C Ca Cd Ba As Sb Al

wash your hands before eating, keep hands away from eyes nose & mouth when working keep a tube of hand cleaner soap and towel ready plus rags and tissue

Mixtures to Avoid

(due to chemical reaction causing darkening)

Flake White

with...Ultramarine

Alizarin

with ...

Alizarin

Cadmiums Emerald Green Viridian

Yellow Ochre

Raw Sienna

Chrome Green with ... or Chrome Yellow

Alizarin

Cadmium

Cadmiums

Flake White

with ...

Chromes

Emerald Green Viridian

or you can use the fact that these colours darken to your advantage Modern tube colours react less these days due to the use of substitute dye pigments and synthetic vehicles

Safe Colours Titanium or Zinc.... White

Rose Madder Scarlet Crimson

Lemon Yellow....

Indian Yellow

Cobalt Blue....

Ceurelian Blue

Windsor Blue

Shades

makes attractive mixes Experiment with your own Alizarine darkened with Ceurelian ground shadows Ultramarine darkened with Light Red darks Raw Umber greys when lightened White (flesh tone) Cadmium Redgreys when mixed Cerulean (fogs, smoke) Raw Sienna, Burnt Sienna Flesh when lightened On blue/green tonal underpainting Indian or Venetian Red when lightened Salmon or Old Rose lights Northern Promontory Plein Air Painters 35

A gesso ground for canvas 8

Parts

Wattyl Solaguard Low Sheen exterior acrylic paint

1 1/2 Parts

Chemstick or Bondcrete PVA glue (is exterior quality)

1 1/2 Parts

Selleys exterior Spackfilla or Plaster of Paris

2 1/2 Parts

Titanium White Pigment

for pastel or chalk ground - add 2

Parts

Pumice Powder extra fine ground

Mix the Spackfilla powder and Titanium gradually then PVA stirring well using an electric drill with a paddle mixer attached for 10 - 15 minutes to prevent lumps This makes a thick paste which can be diluted with a dash of water. Brushing the paint into the canvas well makes it go thinner. Don’t add too much Plaster or the mix will go hard in the can. Keep in a sealed container. Stir well before using again. The titanium sinks to the bottom.

Dries in 2 - 3 hours.

2 to 3 coats are necessary

Leave dry for as long as possible before using, minimum 2 weeks. A 10 oz. coarse or fine weave canvas can be glued to cardboard, craftboard or ply with PVA glue or as a stretched canvas (seal the back of a stretched canvas with a quality PVA before stretching) then gessoed with the above recipe to make a permanent extra bright slightly absorbent ground for acrylic or oil painting.

36 Northern Promontory Plein Air Painters

Suggestions Subject Matter or What to paint Objects Depicted and their influences A Still Life in & out of Picture Plane flowers dolls toys tractors trains objects B Landscape fertile barren hard soft or geographic location C Water rivers dams ponds lakes waterfalls action flow still reflections E Seascape oceans boats wharves harbours rocks beach waves F Animals horses cows sheep koalas kangaroos birds cats dogs dragons G People crowds groups pairs lone young children old costume H Figure Portraits nudes male female draped and clothed Influences on subjects 1 Time of day sunrise sunset high noon moonlight in between 2 Time in history modern present frontier biblical

mythological

ancient 3 View angle low level high 4 Subject angle rear frontal 3/4 5 Light direction back front (flash) 3/4 low level high hard medium soft bounced light 6 Seasons autumn summer spring winter 7 Weather Fog wind snow storm rain wind flood sunny hot cold 8 Gender male female bath toilet war sport dance play angels gods mermaids fairies princes witches devils wizards 9 Emotion death love holidays carnivals work poverty freedom fear comedy (X factor) happiness desire passion horror loneliness unhappiness beauty emotive story event happening ugliness drama nobility majesty utopia religious fervour wind fire peace still touch friendliness and so on Emotive power of pictures in different overall key colours mainly darks different colours have a differing emotional response match the overall dominant key colour to the emotion feeling story e.g. green= envy, cold, rejection, fear, bad music, lunch, pastoral wealth, etc. Make a list for your own direction

Northern Promontory Plein Air Painters 37

STEPS for Antique or Sculptural Drawing (chiaroscuro) as taught by Mr Gunther Seaforth Tech 1966

Straight Lines

-Establish the size, using straight outlines and the attitude of other

Proportion

outlines and the centre line of masses or skeletal frame Relationship of each part - sizes of negative spaces - relate to

Perspective Pivot Points

classical models of planes to horizon - direction of shading- foreshortening shoulders hips joints neck feet - where flow changes direction

Rhythm

- pressure points of spaces lines objects adding to the flow or direction to the

Space Critical

patterns and actions -feeling your way slowly using feint lines - fuzz - light colour deliberate searching till a subject emerges - simplify large spaces and their relationship - find the planes to form masses - cubes

Skeletal Frame

of simple mass - deliberate don’t scratch - check the underlying structure - points where

Tonal Perspective

bones lay close to the surface - hard or rocky outcrops - lights determine the light source - lighter near light source and darker further away - darks are lighter near the light source and darker further away - outlines become heavy in shadow or where a sharp plane exists & light or no outline on light side or where a gradual plane exists lines are darker in the foreground and lighter in the distance

Firmly Slowly

lines follow the direction of the form surface in relation to the horizon - let the subject suggest the technique -look thrice think twice draw once

Tone Bias - lines becomes part of the shadow in the darks and Overemphasize part of the background on the light side (generally) -reinforce the overall tone of the object (not the detail) -graduating darker away from the focal point - shape - form major character details - point of interest - by going over the same steps again using a firmer approach 38 Northern Promontory Plein Air Painters

GUIDE ONLY PRICING Oil Paintings Multiply the width by the height.. add Quality 3% or more...add size o/heads...frame...etc.

Northern Promontory Plein Air Painters 39

Size inches

Equals Quality +% 10,5, 3% o/hd

Frame Comm- S/Tax Entry Fee Delivery Insurance Sales ission Discount

6x 8

48

50

150

200

300

330

8 x 10

80

83

173

250

350

385

12 x 16

192

196

266

350

480

530

14 x 18

252

260

310

390

520

575

16 x 20

320

330

377

470

650

715

18 x 24

432

445

490

590

790

870

24 x 36

864

890

932

1050

1400

1870

30 x 42

1260

1300

1340

1460

1950

2600

samples of paintings

The Shed Fagan Park Galston

40 Northern Promontory Plein Air Painters

by

Terry Clare

Samples of Puddle Mix Painting with wet in wet improvements

Lighthouse, Bradley Head by Terry Clare

Flinders Gums by Terry Clare Northern Promontory Plein Air Painters 41

AR T ART Art is visual or aural creative expression, wooing emotion for spiritual entertainment and enjoyment Sometimes both aural & visual It can take the form of Dance Theatre P ictures Music S culpture Costume or Nature Often complemented by combinations of these. The five human senses with Imagination invoke Creativity When in a calm pleasant unhurried environment Within N ature, the Great outdoors or spectacular Architecture Particularly when in the presence of similar minds sharing the same experiences Ideas come out of a spiritual ethos as if from elsewhere Appearing in dreams and subconscious wanderings If they are not recorded instantly they can disappear Always have a notebook and pen handy Unless creators are in a reasonable state of Grace or have a level of Moral standing and Conscience A lack of peace and calm can inhibit their creativity Faced with a creative outcome of unusual ease and success One can only wonder if they were the one and only sole instigator Sometimes it is a whisper in the ear or it seems as if The is work is progressing by itself and a sense of joy is ever present Despair ensues when nothing happens Pleasant persistence & perspiration is the only way forward.

42 Northern Promontory Plein Air Painters

NOTES

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44 Northern Promontory Plein Air Painters

Northern Promontory Plein Air Painters 45

46 Northern Promontory Plein Air Painters