Working Outdoors

Demo: Working Outdoors

The subject of this painting is a local beauty spot, only about 15 minutes drive from home. Me and my Dad spent a pleasant early evening painting the scene before nipping into the local pub.

	The Subject This was the view that caught our eye. A slightly misty view over blue-green pine woods and a reservoir, towards distant smokey blue hills.
	The Equipment I use this box (or french) easel for most of my oil painting outdoors. All my equipment fits into it and it can store two wet panels or canvases. It tends to be a bit heavy and bulky for long treks though! Cheap but adequate versions of this easel can be had for about £80. More expensive, but well made versions cost £150 upwards.
	Stage 1 I decided to put on a light wash of a pearly grey colour that I mixed using ultramarine blue, pthalo green and alizarin crimson. All mixed together with lots or turpentine to form a pale wash. I made sure to use vigorous brushstrokes to give some interesting texture to the wash. Because I used lots of turps, the wash was dry within a couple of minutes.
	Stage 2 With a slightly darker version of the wash used in stage 1, I indicate the main outline of the hills, trees and water. As you can see, no need for great detail.
	Stage 3 The trickiest stage! The first colours you apply will literally set the tone for the rest of the picture. So I always try hard to get the right colour. But more importantly I try to set the right tone. I identify the darkest tone (the trees in the foreground, and the lightest (the reflections in the reservoir) and try to get them right. Then I look for a mid tone (the fields beyond the reservoir).
	Stage 4 Now I've established the lightest, darkest and mid-tones, I can relax a bit and fill in the rest. Actually, I decide early on that the mid-tone value for the fields isn't light enough, so I mix a little white and blue and apply directly over the green paint. It effectively mixes the colours 'in situ' on the board - essential when working into wet paint.
	Stage 5 This is the finished painting. I add some shadow areas to the trees, then use the wrong end of a brush to scrape marks to represent the tree trunks. I add a touch more crimson and yellow to the grassy areas at the bottom of the picture even though I didn't see them in nature, as I think this brings them forward a little.

Generally I use thicker and thicker paint as the painting progresses, both for texture and to stop the paint on previous layers being picked up and affecting the colour values. The hardest bit is knowing when to stop. In this case, it took only about an hour from start to finish.

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