In The Studio: “Summer in Maine”

Well, I have been away in the world of learning to paint oils for awhile and that is going really well.  I will be posting some new paintings for you soon.  Today I want to show you a nice little demonstration about capturing light in the landscape using figures as the theme.  Remember unless you have a really good reason try to keep the sky the lightest part of your landscape.  It is the light source and therefore the lightest.I am using a lot of white on the rocks and the sides of the figures to emphasize the light as well as keeping the sky the lightest part of the painting.  Remember this important point, in landscape painting we show the light source and in most other paintings we only show the effect of the light on the surface or as shadow forms, and we can never duplicate the power of the sun so just give it the lightest value.Using cobalt blue, cobalt violet and cerulean blue I ran the sky cutting around the figures and the tops of the rocks. I don’t worry too much about the drips and runs this is a quick study and these types of accidents don’t affect me.Using the side of a number 16 round brush loaded with new gamboge, and olive green I brush in the shadows and form of the rocks.  I then come back with a little burnt sienna and darken a few areas.  I also splatter the wash with a dark mixture of these three pigments and let it dry some.I darken the shadow forms on the figures and also add more color to the rocks, they were a little too light and competing with the sky for brightness.I darken the figures with a stronger mixture with less water and using the side of a round brush I put a value change on the water.  This gives the water a feeling of light and movement.  Don’t be afraid to go back a put well thought out planes on the water.  Just try not to put a wash down a then scrub it into the original color, negating the effect of your color choice.