Painting A Lady In Red In Oil Colours

In today's blog I once again use palette knives and oil colours when I paint a Lady in Red. I lay down blotches of paint to develop the picture and only use a brush to sign my name with. The facial features, though almost imperceptible, are done in scgraffitto.

I start today's project on a masonite board measuring 91 cm x 38,5 cm.

I prepare the surface by painting the board with Dala Acrylic Gesso.

I then paint the whole surface a bright yellow, using acrylic paint to speed up the drying time. As, at least some of the colours I will be working with, will be transparent, or semi-transparent, this bright yellow undertone, will give my painting an energetic and warm feel.

I then use a charcoal stick to draw my design on the dry paint.

I still have a little paint left on my palette from the previous project. I decide that using this on my canvas will actually contribute positively to the outcome and so I start by adding blotches of these colours to the background.

I will blend these in later.

With my palette clean, I can now start adding the colours I wish to use.

I start with a bright red. I will use the round-tipped palette knife for most of today's painting.

The essence of the figure is painted in red.

I now opt for a reddish brown.

I paint the shaded are of the background in this colour.

A bright yellow will go in the lighted areas.

I continue to fill in the background.

I now desperately need to strat adding cooler touches to the painting.

Blue is added to the painting, with blotches added to the top as well.

I choose a warm green for the final colour in the background.

Note how I keep repeating the colours on the top and bottom, left and right, even if it is only in blotches.

I now need to develop the shadows and shaded areas of the figure to add definition to the painting. I opt for a different palette knife at this stage.

The shadows are painted in. I also finish the clutch bag in her hand.

The skin tone will be further developed by adding Raw Sienna to the flesh tones left over from the previous palette.

I simply add blotches of the Raw Sienna to the skin.

Instead of painting the facial features, I switch palette knives once again and simply scratch into the wet paint to create the illusion of features.

I then simply need to sign my name before the painting is done.

After a couple of days, I returned to this painting and decided that I did not like my choice of colours for the background. As a result, I decided to change it. I would swap the reddish brown for a deep purple. I started with  pure white to cover most of the brown with.

Do not paint solidly over everything. Also, remember the principle of fat over lean. If you paint thinly over thick paint, the top layer will dry too quickly, causing cracks to appear. Keep your layers thick and fat.

I then moved on to the purple I wanted to use.

This time, the finished result held more appeal for me.

Marietjie Uys (Miekie) is a published author. You can buy my books here:
You can purchase Designs By Miekie 1 here.
Jy kan Kom Ons Teken en Verf Tuinstories hier koop.
Jy kan Kom Ons Kleur Tuinstories In hier koop.
Jy kan Tuinstories hier koop.
You can follow Miekie's daily Bible Study blog, Bybel Legkaart, here in English & Afrikaans.
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Paint An Impressionist Landscape in Oils

In today's blog I show you step by step how to paint an impressionist landscape in oils. This time we use a slightly different technique than what we've been doing up to now. After applying the oil to the surface with a palette knife, we get our hands into the thick oily paste and use our fingers to blend the colours. You will either hate this, or love it. I LOVE it!

I start by preparing the surface of a Masonite board with Dala Acrylic Gesso. This is left to dry completely. The board measures 1,22m x 60 cm.

Once the gesso is dry, I paint the board an earthy and neutral Burnt Sienna using Dala Acrylic Paint.

The land will be painted in three earth tones, ranging from dark to light. All of the colours will be mixed with Impasto Medium.

I use a palette knife to roughly place the colours where I would like them to go. I start with the darkest brown.

Here you can get a clearer idea of how and where I applied the paint.

I then use my fingers to blend the paint onto the surface.

I then apply the medium brown.

A better view of this application.

This is also blended in by hand.

The lightest of the browns are very loosely applied in only a few spots.

In this view you can see where I have put the last colour. I do not blend this last colour by hand yet. This will follow later.

I now prepare the colours that I will use in the sky. I use three shades of blue. I have an orange for my focus colour and a paler yellow to accentuate it. I also have a green to blend the blues with the warmer colours more naturally. All of these colours are once again mixed with the Impasto medium.

Starting with the darkest blue and working towards the lightest shade, I apply all three blues with the palette knife.

Here is a clearer idea of what I have done.

I come back in with the palest of my browns to blend the spot where the earth and sky meets.

Take a step back to assess the progress.

I now develop my focal area, starting with the orange. The yellow is added surrounding the orange to accentuate this colour.

Stepping back once more.

I now need to add the green to make the transition from blue to yellow, to orange, seem more natural.

The canvas is now ready to blended by hand again.

I mix the paint very carefully as I wish to avoid creating muddy messes in the middle of my picture.

The last colour to be added is Titanium White. I mix this with the Impasto medium as well.

The white is applied to all the spots where the Burnt Sienna of the background is still visible.

Stepping back to assess the progress.

Finally the white is also blended in by hand. I use a fine brush to sign my name and then put the painting aside to dry.

Marietjie Uys (Miekie) is a published author. You can buy my books here:
You can purchase Designs By Miekie 1 here.
Jy kan Kom Ons Teken en Verf Tuinstories hier koop.
Jy kan Kom Ons Kleur Tuinstories In hier koop.
Jy kan Tuinstories hier koop.
You can follow Miekie's daily Bible Study blog, Bybel Legkaart, here in English & Afrikaans.
You may prefer to follow the traveling blog, A Pretty Tourist.
For more crafty ideas and great products, visit A Pretty Talent on Facebook.
Remember to keep nurturing your TALENT for making PRETTY things.
You can subscribe to any of these blogs to receive regular updates by email, by simply registering your email address at the top of the applicable blog.