Landscapes.pdf

BARRON'S ART

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LANDSCAPES

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CONTENTS

CONTENTS

THE

MEDIUM

•

The

Medium

andthe Land-scape.TheEarliestLandscapes

Were

PaintedonStone.The

Me-dievalLandscape. The Renais-sance, aTechnicalRevolution.

FromtheFrench

Academy

tothe Impressionists.

Twentieth-Cen-turyLandscapes 6-7 •

_Mixing

_{Colors. ColorTheory} Applied to the Subject. Tonal Gradation. Using the Palette.

Mixingonthe Palette. Sponta-neous Mixing on the Canvas. ColorandBrushstroke.The

Im-pressionistPainters 8-9 • Details and Spontaneity in

Painting. Quick Painting and Expression. Pastels, a Quick Technique.LeavingthePainted Areas Untouched. Letting the

ColorsShowThrough.

Watercol-ors,AtmosphereWithoutDetail. PastelsandFauvism 10-11 •DifferentTechniquesfor

Paint-ing Trees. Usinga Pencil. Ink.

Watercolors. Pastels. Acryhcs. MedievalSynthesis 12-13 •EvaluatingPlanesinPastels.

A

FastTechnique.Buildingupthe Painting. Evaluating the Back-groundofthe Paper.From

Gener-alPlanetoForeground.Pastel as aTechniqueforRapidPainting.

How

toStoreYourPaintings.The

Density of Pastel 14-15 • Watercolors and the Land-scape.Materials.

A

Spontaneous

yetComplex Medium.Paintingon WetPaper. PaintingonDryPaper.

TurnerandtheLandscape. .16-17 •_Acrylics

_and

_{theLandscape.}

What

IsAcrylic Resin?

A

Good

TechniqueforLandscapes.

Dis-advantages. TexturedWork. The

PaletteandColor.Applyingthe

Medium

totheTheme. ...18-19

•Oils

and

theLandscape.

A

Traditional Technique. Chro-matic Potential. Surfaces for

Oil. Virtues ofOil. Religious Scenes 20-21 •AlternatingTechniques. Al-ternatingAcrylicandOil.Quick BegirmingandSlow Completion.

Workinginthe Studio.

Combin-ingTechniques 22-23

SURFACES,

MATERIALS,

AND

ACCESSORIES

•

The

Fast Sketch: Outdoor Equipment. TheEasel.

Materi-als:Watercolors,Ink, Oils,and

Pastels.Drawing Pads and

Can-vas. The Camera. The

Impres-sionistLandscape 24-25 •

Working

intheStudio. Illumi-nation.The UseofPhotographs andSketches.BasicEquipment andFurniture. Use ofOutdoor Equipment. CleaningMaterials.

WorkingintheStudio 26-27

TECHNIQUE

AND

PRACTICE

•_{Landscape Composition. The} GoldenSection.TheColor

Mass-es in aComposition.ThePoint of

Viewin theOriental

Composi-tion.TheBalancingoftheMasses. BalanceinaTwentieth-Century Landscape. Asymmetry in the

Composition.Typesof

Composi-tion 28-29 •Adaptability.TheDivisionof

Space.ThePlanesina Picture.

Adaptability and Perspective. Adaptability andComposition. Adaptability and Depth. The "Weight"ofColor 30-31 •

Middle

_Ground, General Plane (Differences

Between

Planes). SuperimposingPlanes.

Planes and Composition. The LocationofPlanesina Painting.

The Viewpoint.The Useofthe Grid. Chromaticism and Dis-tance. The Use of White in a

Landscape 32-33 •

_{The Quick}

Sketch in

Lead

Pencil.TheMotif.The

Evalua-tion oftheUnderpainting. The

Size of thePaper.Stumping and Expression. TakingAdvantage

ofthe Light. FastandProductive

Work

34-35 •

The

_Choice of

Theme.

The

Theme

andColor.FromFoliage

toScrubland.UnrealColor.From BluetoYellow.ColorSynthesis.

Evaluating EarthColors.

How

to

Choosea Palette 36-37 •

_The

_{Horizon Line}

_and

_the Point of View. The Back-ground Conditioned by the Viewpoint. The High Horizon

Line. The

Low

Horizon Line.

TheRelationship with the Sky. Perspective.VanishingLines.

Depth of Field. The Renais-sanceandtheDevelopment of

Perspective 38-39 • _{Chromatic Evaluation and} theSurrounding Atmosphere. Color and Reahsm. Colorist

Chromaticism. Monochromatic Treatment of a Landscape.

A

Landscapewith a

Warm

Tenden-cy.

A

Landscape with a Cool Tendency. The

Harmony

of

yght 40-41 •

Types

ofBrushstrokes: Ap-plying Paint. The

Construc-tion ofColor Masses.

Wash

and Watercolor. Flat Brushstroke.

Fast

Monochrome

Painting. Frottage.TheDrawing andthe

Painting. Alternating Colors withStrokes 42-43 • Resolving the Whole. From Sketchto InitialColor.Color Ap-proximation.Tonal Adjustment.

Ways

ofInterrelatingColors.The SubjectiveContribution.

Rough-ing-out theCanvas 44-45 •AnimalsinaLandscape. The Anatomyofan Animal.

Propor-tioning a Horse. Animals and

PrehistoricArt.TheBasic Struc-ture ofHouseholdand Farm Ani-mals. Color and Synthesis of

Animalsin a Landscape.

Con-trast by Means of the

Under-painting. Integrating theAnimal

intheLandscape 46-47 •Rural Landscapes.

Composi-tionandBackground. Important Areasof the Painting.The Impor-tance ofthe Motif. Planes and

Color.

How

to Use Different

Techniques.

Van Gogh

andthe

Landscape 48-49 •TreesintheLandscape.

Pro-portioning and Perception. Foliage. PaintingaTree.

Rein-CONTENTS

forcing the Colors.Determining

the Finish 50-51 • Trees in the Landscape: Branches and Leaves. The Background.FromDetailstothe

Overall Treatment.

A

Thicketas the OverallComposition.Details

WithintheWhole.Detailandthe

Proximityof Planes.Botticelli's

Trees 52-53 •DetailandPerspective.

Draw-ing Instruments.Working on

Di-mensionsandProportions.From

theGeneraltothe Specific.The ImportanceoftheForeground.

DifferentPlanesintheSixteenth

Century 54-55 • Rural Buildings, Distant Planes. Defining the Back-ground.Underpaintingthat

De-finesForms.SuggestingVolume. TheReflection ofColoron Build-ings.BrushstrokesandPlanesin

theConstruction.Balancing Col-or and Forms. The Medieval Landscape 56-57 •Riverand

Pond

Landscapes. TheRiverandPondLandscape.

Theme

andComposition.

Com-posingtheMassesofColor

Sur-roundingthe River.ThePalette

andtheColor. Three Levelsof

Development. Treesandthe

Riv-er.LightsandShadows.

Reflec-tionsatNight 58-59 •RocksinaLandscape.

Geome-tryandStones.The Foreground

withLarge Volumes.Volume and

Light. Light Envelops Objects.

TheLightonthe Subject. Unityin

aLandscape anditsChromatic Ef-fect.WetRocks 60-61 • Water: Rivers

and

Ponds.

Movement

inWater. Coloras a Reflection of theSurroundings.

How

to PaintRiverbanks. The SkyinaReflection.Don't Mud-dytheColors.Use White

Dar-ingly 62-63 •Riverand

Pond

Vegetation. Reeds. ExpressionandSubtlety.

PlanesandFeatures.Vegetation and Movement. Plants on the Banks. DiirerandPlants...64-65

•_WildFlora.Integrationinto

theLandscape.Roughing-out

theComposition.

Complemen-tary Chromaticism. Superim-posingPlanes.Observationand Blending.ReferencePointsand

Light

when

Painting Flowers.

PointsofLight 66-67 •ReflectionsontheWater.The Incidenceof Light.Double Per-spective.Waves and

Reverbera-tionofLight.

A

Synthesisby

Van

Gogh. Shadowsin Reflections. ReflectioninStillWater.

Synthe-sisinthe Reflection 68-69 • Mountains. Color Influence

AccordingtotheSeason.Color

inWinter. Variety ofPalettes.

Creating Volume. Distance

Weakens

the Colors. Back-groundandIllumination...70-71

•

Wooded

Landscapes.

Shad-ows

andLights.Light Filtering

Through the Leaves.

How

to

PaintLightBetweentheTrees.

Backlighting and Shadows. Shadows and Tree Trunks in

Landscapes. Specific

Brush-strokesforthePoints of Light.

UsingPure ColortoCreate

Con-trast.Pure ColorinLandscape

Painting 72-73 •Snow ontheMountains.

Differ-entHues ofWhite. Color as a

ShadowintheSnow. Tonal Varia-tions of a Snowy Landscape.

Snow

onTrees.ThePalettefora

SnowyLandscape.The Grayscale

inTonalGradation.Snowandthe

GradationofGrays 74-75 •DifferentPlanes andDepth. Description oftheForeground, Middle Ground,and Background. Chromatic Variation and Dis-tance.TheAtmosphereas a Fil-ter.UsingWhiteandPerspective. RelationshipBetweentheHorizon andtheSky 76-77 • Sunrise

and

Sunset. The ChromaticismoftheSkytothe

Application ofColor. The Im- ;

portanceofthe

Moment

andthe Light. Comparing Values and |

HighlightingtheWhole.Mono- ;

chromeSketchesandthe

Cen-terof Interest.TonalGradation

of the Sky. Seurat and the '

Evening 78-79

•

The

_Sky andIts Color.The ColoroftheSky Accordingto

theTimeofDay.Influence of the

SkyontheLandscape.Painting Skies.The Color ofthe After-noon. LightEstabUshesthe

Clari-tyoftheWhole 80-81 •DepthandColor.Atmosphere andthe Palette.TheGolden Sec-tionandDepth.PaintingPlanes ThroughClouds.The Cloudsin theMiddle Ground.TheGeneral PlaneandtheElementsNearthe

Horizon 82-83 •ClimateandColor.Each Sea-sonHasIts

Own

Atmosphere.The CoolPalette.The

Warm

Palette.

TheMixedPalette.Ideal Medi-ums.PlanesintheSky 84-85 •

A

Clear Sky. Variety of

Tones.Color Gradation. Brush-workintheSky.

Warm

Colors ontheHorizon.MaximalPoints ofLight 86-87 • Rain: Techniques, Chro-maticism,

and

Highlights. Chromaticism and Highlights. Effect ofWetnessintheTrees.

A

StudyofaRainySky.TheRain

Palette.Highlights.Reflections

inPuddles 88-89 •

A

StormySky.TheImportance

ofSpace. Monochrome,

Trans-parent,and

Opaque

Properties. InfluenceoftheSkyonthe Earth.

The Highhghts in the Clouds. ContrastinaStorm.Volumein

Clouds 90-91 •TipsforPainting Skies. Old Brushes. Frottage. Circular Strokes for Painting Clouds.

Light and Indistinctness. The Uniformity of the Sky. Color Blending 92-93 •

How

to PaintForegrounds.

Essential Objects: Trunks, Rocks,Trees.Compositionand

the Foreground. Determining

theAmountofBlending.The Use

ofthe PaletteKnifeandtheTip of the Brush Handle. Detailed Work.

Van

Gogh

andthe Fore-ground 94-95

THE

MEDIUM

THE

MEDIUM

AND

THE LANDSCAPE

Painting,fromitsbeginnings,has

made

useofthelandscapeasa point ofreference

forestabhshingthesubject matter.

Over

thecourseoftime,landscapepainting

was

transferredfromwallstoother

more manageable

surfacessuchas papyrus

and

parchment.

Used

as a

backdrop

tohistoric,rehgious, or

everyday

scenesorsimplyasanallegory

ofnature,thelandscape has

been

adaptedtoeachage,throughtheuseof

new

techniques

and

pictorial

mediums.

The

Earliest

Landscapes

Were

Painted

on

Stone Before the inventionof writ-ing,prehistoricpeoples

would

paintonthewalls of theircaves scenesdepictingactivitiesthat

were

vital for their survival,

particularly hunting.

They

would

use natural pigments (umbers, charcoal,andground minerals)

bound

together with animal fats to represent the shapesofthe animalsandtheir

surroundings.

Cave

paintings presentedatotallyspatialview. Not

knowing

the rulesof

per-spective,these earlyartists de-picted the objectsonthe

same

plane, using differencesinsize as theironly reference.

Surpris-Theearliestpaintingswere

n]adeonthecave walls using mineralpigmentsthatwere sometimesboundwithanimal

andvegetablefat.

ingly,

some

ofthese paintings havesurvived

down

tothe

pre-sentday.

Egyptianpaintings also

in-cluded landscapesas a back-groundtothestoriestheytold.

The most

common medium

used

by

theEgyptiansonthe papyrus

was

similar to what

we now

call tempera, a

pig-ment

bound

with either with

egg

yolk orglue.

The Medieval Landscape

Medievalpainting,together withthe culturalheritageofthe

WesternWorld,wasconfinedto

themonasteries.

Monks

became

copyistsandminiaturists

who

il-lustrated thecodicesandcopied Bibles inwhich theyincluded explanatory scenes.Thesetiny

images accompanyingthe text

werepaintedon parchment,a

fine,cutand boundsheetofskin.

The basic pictorial technique

Materialfortemperapainting.

usedforthese miniatures

was

tempera. For the murals in

churches,frescowasused.

The landscape formedthe backgroundforthese brightly colored scenes, reveahng a greatcapacityforsynthesisand imagination. Medieval land-scape scenes

were

of an

in-structionalnature,an attemptto

inform a mostlyilliterate

popu-lation.Theytherefore

present-ed

everything ina simplified manner, using a single plane withouttheuseof perspective.

Page from The BookofHours, a

medievalmanuscriptwith

Leonardo daVinci,The Ladyof

theRocks.Oilsandperspective brought importantdevelopments

totherepresentation of landscape.

W.Turner,TheRoadtoUbierto.

Romanticismintroducedusto the earliest abstractideasthrough landscape,andwithTurner, watercolorscamebackinto their

own.

MORE

INFORMATION

Landscapecompositionp.28

The

Medium

and

the

Landscape

Mixing Colors

The

Renaissance, a

Technic

al

Revol

ution

Withthe arrival of the

Renais-sance, art

emerged

from the convents,a

new

merchantclass

financedtheconstructionof im-portantbuildings,andtheage

ofthegreatpalacesandearly baroquecathedralsbegan.

Artists,groupedintoguilds,

began

to produce pictorial

works commissioned

by

the

nobility and also

by

the wealthiest classesof

society-tradersand moneylenders.

Paintingevolvedrapidlywith

the introduction of oil paints

fromthe

Low

Countries.

Techni-cal developmentssuchas the

invention of perspective and anatomy enabledpaintingto

re-producenaturewith ahitherto

unknown degreeofrealism.

Landscapepaintingwas sub-dividedintourban landscapes

as thebackgroundtoeveryday scenesandrurallandscapeas thebackgroundtomystical, re-hgious,orhunting scenes.

PatriceGiordo,hiSortiedelaMaison.(Secondversion).Acrylicon

canvas.

PierreAlechinsky.JeSuisLoin.Acryliconcanvas.

Twoversions ofcontemporarylandscapepainting.

Twentieth-Century

Landscapes

Since theageofImpressionism, avant-gardemovementssuchas Post-Impressionism,Fauvism,Cubism, Expressionism and Surre-alismhavefollowedeachotherat lightningspeed, andthe

land-scapehasadaptedtoallofthesemovementsasoneofthemain

subjectstobeinterpreted.

Nowadays

we

cannot saythat a singlemovementexists..

.twentieth-century landscapeputs the legacyoftheoldmastersintopractice

vianumerous modernapproaches.

From

the

French

Academy

tothe

Impressionists

In Paris, the

academy

laid

down

strict rules concerning bothcompositionand

propor-tion.Landscapepainting

was

no exceptionto thisacademic pressureandartists

were

re-quiredtopaintlandscapes

vir-tuallyfrommemory.

The contribution ofthe

Im-pressionists,bothtothethemeof thelandscapeandtothe pictori-altechnique used,wasdecisive

for this break with academic standards.Breaking

away

from

thestrictguidelinesofthe acad-emy,theImpressionistpainters

preJucedhighlycreative land-scapes painteddirectlyfrom na-tureitself,withthecolorbeing applieddirectlyonthecanvas. Theirwork wasrejectedby con-temporarycritics,butwas soon

tobeacceptedby younger

gen-erations ofartists.

Bj

VincentVan Gogh,Jardinde

Aries. Impres-sionism ledthe

paintertobreak awayfrom

acad-emicidealsboth

inexpressionand

intheuse of

THE

MEDIUM

MIXING

COLORS

Inlandscapes, chromatic design hasan

enormous

influenceoverthefinalresult,through theuseofthebasicharmonicranges,cool,

warm,

orneutral.

The

masteryofcolorinlandscapepaintingisanabihtyacquired through

much

practice.

We

willreview suchsubjects as colortheory

when

appHed

tovariousapproaches

tolandscapepainting.

Color

Theory

Applied

to theSubject

When

the artist is faced witha particular landscape, the first thing he or she is

aware

of,long before forms ordetails,isthecolor.

When

a particular subjectisto

be

painted, irrespective of the techniqueused, thefirst con-sideration is the color that will

make

up

the chromati-cism of the subject. This

means

that,althoughthe

sub-jectpossessesits

own

chro-maticism,the artistisfreeto

useany combinationofcolors necessaryforhisorher

inter-pretationofthesubject.

Yellows, ochers, reds, siennas, umbers, and crimsons formthe warm ranges. Greens andreds, oranges andblues are comple-mentary colors. When mixed, they produce grays.

T

onal

Gradation

Regardlessofthetechnique used

when

painting a land-scape, the color has a certain

tonalandcoveringpower,soit

isimportantto

know

the chro-matic hmitationsofeachcolor beingused.

Tonalevaluationcan

be

ob-serveddirectlyfromthe land-scape, i.e., fromthe point of

viewoftheobserver. For ex-ample, an expanse of land varies incolorfromthe

fore-ground backtothe horizon. So dothe differentelementsofthe

landscape, such as trees,

rocks,etc., together with the weatherconditionsthatalso

af-fect the overallchromaticism. Withinthe

same

landscape a single colorcanhave

differ-ent intensities that aUer its

tone.

Asdistanceincreases,colorstend

toloseluminosity.

Itoftenoccursduring land-scape paintingthatthecolor complexityleads theartistto drasticallyreduce therange used,

and

therefore the

excit-ing relationshipsofcolorare graduallylost.

After theinitialcolorshave

been

apphed, the palette should

be

usedconstantlyto

mixthenecessary tones and

colors. In this

way

the chro-maticism progresses at the

same

paceasthedevelopment

oftheforms.

The different hues on the

paletteare obtained

by

gradu-allyaddingsmallamountsof

the colortobe blendedin.For example, cerulean blue ac-quires a greenish tinge if a small

amount

of yellow is

added,

and

ifasmallamount

ofcrimsonis

added

tothe re-sultingmixture, theresult will

beabluish kaki.

Different

gradations color obtained

The

Medium

and

the

Landscape

Mixing

Colors

Details

and

Spontaneity

in

Painting

The

transparency of

watercohrs owesitslightto thewhite ofthe

paper

Mixing on

the Palette

Whatever

the technique

may

be, the paletteisthe

per-fect "test-bench" for experi-mentingwithcolors, bethey water-based colors or oils.

Mixingonthepaletteenables ustofindexactly the color

we

require.As

we

saw

inthe pre-vious chapter, there are three basicranges (warm,cool,and

neutral)withinwhichall har-monicranges canbeobtained. Withineachrange,the chro-maticism obtained

may

in-clude colors that actually

belongtootherranges.Inthe caseofoilpainting, thecolor obtainedonthe palettewillnot

change

when apphed

to the

painting.Water-basedpaints,

ontheotherhand,willdry

dif-ferently onthe paintingthan onthe palette.Transparent

wa-tercolorallowswhatisbeneath itto

show

through,beitthe pa-perofpaletteoranearlier ap-phcation of paint on the canvas.

Initialdevelopmentofforms. Differenttypes of roughing-out.

Spontaneous

Mixing on

the

Canvas

Thecolorsinlandscape

paint-ing canbeappliedfreelyand mixeddirectlyonthecanvas.

For this style of "direct"

painting,awide rangeofcolors

isurmecessary.Justtheprimary colors andafewearth colors areusuallysufficient.Rapid, or

aliaprimapainting, is highly

practical for small works or

sketches.Thecolorsare almost always

mixed

directlyonthe canvas,whichisan advantage asfarasspeedisconcerned, althoughitdoes reducethe po-tentialforintroducingdifferent

hues.Rapidpainting bringsa

feehngofenergyand

excite-mentto thepainting andis a

useful technique for rapidly synthesizingtheformsand col-ors of thelandscape.

Color

and

Brushstroke

The mixture of colors ap-plied with the brush should develop the necessarycolor combinationsforthe subject.

When

working onalandscape, the forms should gradually

come

toresemblethoseofthe

subject,fromtheinitial rough-ing out of the canvas to the finished work. Color and brushstroke are determined

by

thetypeofbrush.Different

brushes blend the colors in differentways,

depending

on whethertheyuse a hog's hair brushora softer type.

^^'W

Paintingmixeddirectlywith the

backgroundcolor

The

Impressionist Painters

The Impressionist painters

brokeawayfromthe acade-mic ideal that required a

rather theatrical view of nature with an affected,

finickyuseof color.

TheImpressionists'viewof colorwasnot thechromatic mixture as it appeared in

the painting, but rather the overall impression caused on the retina bythe juxta-posingcolors.

This landscape in oils by

Pisarro is an excellent

ex-ample.

MOREmrORMATION

Mixingcolors p. 8

THE

MEDIUM

DETAILS

AND

SPONTANEITY

IN

PAINTING

The

subject oflandscapesinpaintingis

by no means

exhausted,nordoesitbelongto

any

particularstyleor period.Throughoutthe history of painting,landscapeshave

been

present

on

the easels of

many

artists.Inthebeginning,landscapes

were

painted entirelyintheartist'sstudio.It

was

notuntilthe nineteenth century,with theRealists

and

laterthe Impressionists,that artists

began

toventureoutofdoorswiththeircanvases

and

easelstocapturenaturedirectly,paintingwith the

same

hght

and

atmosphere

thatilluminated the subject.

Quick

Painting

and

Expression

Inlandscape paintingthe ini-tialstages arejustasimportant asitsfurtherdevelopment and completion. Rightfromthe

be-ginning,

when

theartistsare

as-sessing the composition, they arepreparingthe

way

inwhich

thepaintingistodevelop.

An

interesting

way

of

start-ing alandscapeisto

work

from

memory.

Inthisway,although

theartistwill laterhavetorefer to the subject, this effort to

summarizethesubjectwill en-ablehimorhertoorganize the elementsinthecomposition.

Expression in landscape painting reflects the artist's

command

oftechniqueand un-derstandingofform. Itis

al-ways

advisableto

make

useof

asketchbookinorderto

work

out various solutions to the problemathand.

Continuous exerciseinquick

painting,with thedisciplineit involves,isoneof thebest ap-proachestolandscapepainting.

Pastels,

a

Quick

Technique

Halfway

between

painting

and

drawing,isthetechnique

ofpaintingwith pastels. Itis

Beingadry medium,pastels possesscharacteristicsakinto

drawing.

f/Vt

'

^«-»

>

RamonSanvisens,WindyDay.

This detailisan eloquentexample

oftheartist'spictorial virtuosityas reflectedinitsexpression.

Comparedwithdrawing, however, pastels provide greaterplasticand

chromaticpotential.

anideal

medium

forpainting quick, spontaneous land-scapes.

Pastels are a dry

medium

and

thus have

many

of the characteristicsofcharcoal or

pencil.

Pastel painting first

in-volves applying the overall massesofcolorandthen

eval-uating the resulting tonesand hues.

The

colorshouldnot

be

blendedtogether orstumped, asthis

would

detractfromits

luminosity.Being an

opaque

medium,

subsequent layers canbe apphed.

Once

the

work

isfinished,it

is advisable to store it in a

portfolio that has onionskin separators so thatthe colors donotgetsmudged.

Thispaintingby Claude Monet

revealstheartist'spastel technique.

Mixing

Colors

Details

and

Spontaneity

in

Painting

Different

Techniques

for

Painting

Trees

Alter theinitialapplicationof

paint,newlayersof color are added.

Manyoftheareasoriginally

painted shouldbeleft

untouchedtomaintain

theirinitialspontaneity.

Leaving

the

Painted

Areas

Untouched

Whichever

pictorial tech-niqueyouare using,you must always bear in

mind

all the stagesinvolvedindepciting a landscape.

After the initial

roughing-out,additionallayersofpaint areapplied.

An

experienced painter

knows

that

many

ofthe

original areasshould beleft

unaltered, since this initial

work

onthe canvas is

more

spontaneous bothincolorand form. For example, the fact that theinitial tonesusedfor

painting the greeneryofthe countryside are notquite right will require corrections, but theexperiencedartistwilltry

toadd

new

layersofpaintonly

when

strictlynecessary.

In the case of watercolor

painting,notoverworkingthe painted areasis essential if

we

wanttopreservethe

trans-MORE

INFORMATION

Middle ground, general plane (dif-ferencesbetweenplanes) p. 32 Riverandpondvegetation p.64

Pastels

and

Fauvism

Pastel

was

a

medium

com-monlyused bythe Fauvist painters. Itallowedthemto

seethefinalresultwithout

waitingforittodry and,

be-ing a dry medium, colors

could be superimposed immediately, allowing un-derlying layers of comple-mentary colors to

show

through subsequentlayers,

thus lending vibrancytothe work.

parencyandluminosity inher-entto thistechnique. Lettingthe

Colors

Show

Through

In landscapepainting, the

way

inwhichthe

work

is con-structed reveals

how

theartist

interpretsthe subject. Allow-ing certain carefully chosen

background

colors to

show

through gives strength and

A

clearexampleof

how

the

background"breathes" through

thesubsequentlayers.

spontaneity to the painting. Forexample,agreen expanse

ofland withocherand orange colored grasswillbe

more

vi-brantif, beforeapplyingthe green tones, theareaofdry grass has

been

paintedwith ochersandoranges.

The paint on the canvas must

be

allowed to

show

throughinplaces sothat

when

different layers of paint are added,a feelingofdepth

and

atmosphereiscreated.

Watercolors,

Atmosphere

Without

Detail

Watercolor is one of the most luminous of pictorial

techniques. White is never usedin this

medium

because itisprovided

by

thewhiteof

thepaper.

The

transparency

ofthe

medium

provides lumi-nositythroughsubsequent ap-plicationsof color,while

new

tones arebeingcreatedatthe

same

time.

One

basic technique is to

work

on a

dampened

paper whichforces the color areasto

blendtogether, thuscreating imprecise combinations of

blended colors. For a

more

precise technique,working on adrysurfaceis

recommend-ed.

Combining

both tech-niques is ideal for painting landscapes, as a

dampened

background

isidealforskies,

while adrybackgroundis bet-ter forpaintingdetails.

A

watercolor paintingthatshows

the qualitiesofthemedium:

luminosity,transparency,and

THE

MEDIUM

DIFFERENT TECHNIQUES

FOR

PAINTING TREES

Standingoutagainst thehorizonhne, creating planes,

and

adorning mountains,treesare anessential

component

oflandscapepainting.

Pencil, ink,oils,acryhcs,

and

pastelsare themost

common

materials

used

forlandscape painting.

Each

contributesitsparticularquahties

and

potentialtodepict, asfaras

possible, the characteristics of the subject.

Using a Pencil

Thedifferentgradations ob-tainable with a lead pencil lendfluency andspontaneity

tothe subject.

When

drawing trees, the rangeofgraysusedis

equiva-lenttothe tonalrangeof colors.

The first step

when

using any

medium

isto

compose

the

subject.Thisisusuallydonein

pencil or charcoal.Themain

lines summarize the overall layoutthatisto

be

developed,

alternatinggradatedgraysand hnesthatouthnethe forms. Af-ter the preliminary drawing, themajorlinesarefurther

em-phasized

and

the elements given

more

definedstructure.

Once

theformhas

been

ful-lydefined,thevolumeis

creat-ed

by

thegradationofgrays,

thus alternating lightand shad-ow,

and

bringingout the

dif-ferenttexturesofthe subject. The

way

lightandshadowsare

apphed

tothe bark, the pro-trudingroots,

and

thelargest

Different linesproducedwith differentpencilsorsolid leads.

Detail ofalandscapedrawn

inpencil.

limbs should

be

differentfrom the

manner

inwhichlight

and

shadows

are handled in the leafyareas.This differenceis

an important factor in

high-lighting textural identities.

Ink

Indiainkcan

be

usedalone ordiluted,producing two

to-tallydifferenteffects.

It can

be

applied with a

brushor

pen

nib.Thelinesleft

by

these aredifferentand

rep-resent two entirely distinct

waysofworking.

A

good

approachofthe

sub-jectcanbe developedusing a nibandvaryingthe intensity of thedark areasby

way

of tightly

drawn hatched(crossed)lines.

The closer thehatchedlines

are together, the darker the areawill

become.

Textureis

created

by

theuseof

many

dif-ferentcominationsoflines.

Indiainkisusedinadiluted watercolor technique some-timescharacterized

by

brush applicationof light

and

dark washes, or is used at full

strengthtoobtainsohd black

areas.

Watercolors

Watercolor is one of the most delicate techniques, as theartist isalwaysdependent

Detailofalandscapewithink

.vashes.

Differenttypes ofIndiainkand

upon

the underlying colors.

When

painting atree in

water-colors, the initial design is

essentialtopreventany back-groundcolorsfrominterfering

with thespace reservedforit. Trees are seldom formed

by

solidvolumes and it is often possible to see

much

of the backgroundcolorsthroughthe

branches.

Watercolor can

be

applied onawetordrysurface.

On

a

totallydrysurface, thebrush can

draw

preciselineswithout

them becoming

distorted. So

when

painting atreeagainst a

lightcoloredbackground,itis

necessarytowaitforthe paint

todry beforeadding branches andotherdetails.Thefoliage

ofthetreecan bepaintedona

dampened

surface.

Ink gouache.

Increase ofcontrastand

reinforcement ofshadows.

Details

and

Spontaneity

in

Painting

Different

Techniques

for

Painting

Trees

Evaluating Planes

in

Pastels

P

Pastels

Pastelsare anopaque

medi-um

andso areperfectfor work-inglight overdark. Asadry

medium,

itissimilarto

draw-ing.Becauseof thewide range

ofcolors availableina set of pastels,any mixingofthe col-orsisunnecessary.

The

layout can

be

done

with a light-colored pastel,

even

overasurfacethathas already

been

painted.

The

color appliedlastreplacesall

oftheunderlyingcolors.The reasonforavoidingany mix-ingofcolorsistomaintain the spontaneityofdirect

apphca-tionofthe colors

made

possi-ble

by

thismedium.

Acrylics

Acrylicsare aquick

and

ef-fective

medium

forlandscape painting.Itsfastdryingability

and permanence

make

this

polymerizedresinoneofthe mostversatile toolsavailable

totheartist.

Acrylicscan produce

trans-parenteffects likethoseof wa-tercolors or dense,

opaque

colorshkeoils.

Seeingthesetrees,itisobvious

whymanyconsider pastels halfwaybetween drawing and

painting.

Medieval Synthesis Medieval painting

ap-pears naive and simple,

althoughworks suchas

thisone revealthe syn-thesis with which the treesin the background have been painted. In

The Burial of Christ

(1333),SimoneMartiniuses temperapaint(pigmentandegg)to

paintthe tree-tops with darktonesthatstandout against the reddishbackground.

Differentstagesinpaintinga tree inacrylics.

Rendering a tree with acrylicscanbe donedirectly with the paintitself,and, asit driesquickly,other colorscan

be

almost immediately

ap-plied.Thecolorsoriginally ap-plied to the canvas will not

interferewiththe

new

layer.

Despite its rapid drying, acryhccan

be

usedin

much

the

same

way

asoils

when

it

comes

tomixingand blending

colors.Thedifferenceisthat this

medium

useswateras a

solvent.

MORE

INFORMATION

Treesinthelandscapep.50

Drawingtrees in thelandscape: branchesandleaves p. 52

1

THE

MEDIUM

EVALUATING PLANES

IN

PASTELS

Pastelispure

pigment

withglueasabindingagent.Thisis

why

itstandshalfway

between

drawing

and

painting asfarastechniqueisconcerned.Itis,however, an importantpictorial

medium when

consideringitsplastic results.

Landscapesinpastelsarerewardingin thatnotimeisrequiredfordrying, thus allowing theartisttoapplyadditionalcolorsimmediately.Pastelrequiresno mixing

on

thepaper;

only gentleblendingwith a

paper

stump.

A

Fast

Technique

Speed and

brilhance are the chiefadvantagesofpastel painting.

The

approach

for a landscapeinpastelcolorsis

the

same

as for any other technique:beginningwithan

initial sketch or layout.

As

pastelcontains chalk, itis a completely

opaque

medium

and

cantherefore

be

used on any colored paper,

even

if it isdark.

Roughing-outcan

be done

inanycolorasitwillbetotally

concealed

by

thesubsequent layersofpastel.Pastelcolors canbe

apphed

directly,either

using the

edge

with the stick laidflatonthepaper, or with thetip.

Theopacity of pastelallowsyou

topaintonecolor overanother

y

Building

up

the

Painting

Although it is possible to

paint directlywith pastel col-ors,the potentialfor superim-posing different layers

and

planesleads ustoanentirely

different pictorialapproach.

Once

thelandscape hasbeen

laidout,theartistcanapplythe

colors of the most important planes while delayingthe

de-tailsintheforeground.Aspastel

colors are a dry and opaque medium,suchdetailcanbeleft untilthe last moment. For

in-stance,ifthereisathicketinthe

middle ground and

some

hous-essituatedbehindit,thehouses shouldbepaintedfirstandthen thethicket,atthe

same

time

al-lowingthe

more

distantplanes

toshowthrough.

Different sticksand

pieces ofpastel.

V

Thefingersarethebesttoolfor

workingwith pastel.

Pastelallowsyoutosuperimpose opaqueplanes, allowingthe

backgroundtoshowthrough.

Evaluating

the

Background

ofthe

Paper

Theopacityofpastelallows youto paint light over dark;

therefore,awidevarietyof pa-percolorscanbeutilizedin this

medium. Thecolor of thepaper

becomes

one

more

colorinthe Exampleof pastel applicationto

canvas:

A.rubbedpastel.

B.rubbedintotheporesofthe

paper.

C.rubbed andstumped.

Different

Techniques

for

Painting

Trees

Evaluating

Planes

in

Pastels

Watercolors

and

the

Landscape

P

llllli

III!

Warm

range onawarm background. The background

colorisas important asthecolor of

thepaintingitself.

compositionofthe landscape and cantherefore

be

usedas the chromatic base for the

theme, allowingthe color of the

papertoreverberate through

thecolorsthathave

been

ap-phed

subsequently.Inthisway,

arangeofcolors

complemen-taryto thecolorof thepaper lends vibrancy to the entire

composition. Forexample,red ororangepaperactsasa com-plementarycolor

when

painting a landscapeincoolcolors.

From

General Plane

to

Foreground

We

have seen

how

thecolor

ofthepaper canplay an im-portant part inthe chromati-cism of the painting. In the

same

way,theinitialpainting

of the

background

can also

show

throughthe

subsequent-ly

apphed

colors. Pastel ap-plied lightly to the sky,

mountains, and

open

spaces canactas abasefor superim-posingplanes without losing anyofthe original spontaneity. Inordertoprotect the initial

colors,alayer of pastel fixative

shouldbe

apphed

tothem. Buildingupapainting be-gins with the initial under-painting on the canvas

and

continues with the develop-mentofthemostimportant

el-ements. The foreground as wellas themiddleground

con-tainsuchimportantdetailsas branches,grass,etc.

If!

iP

It

II

Cool rangeonacoolbackground. Note

how

thebackground

contributestothe tones.

Pastelas

a

Technique

for

Rapid

Painting

For

making

quicksketches

oflandscapes, pastelisan

ide-al

medium

that requires no particularpreparation.Being aninstant

medium,

it can

be

usedwithouttheconsideration

of drying time.

One

of the quickest

ways

of covering large surfacessuchas thesky,

mountains, valleys, thickets,

etc., istolaythe pastelstick

flat onthe paper. This tech-niqueavoidsdetailandallows onetoconcentrateonthecolor andthecomposition.

Thissequenceofimagesillustrates

how,beginningwithanunfocussed

imageofthe subject, themassesof coloraresynthesized.

The

Density ofPastel

Inthislandscape, paintedin

1912, Paul Seusierpresents

apainting with three planes that are clearly defined by

theircolors. Pastelisanideal

mediunn for superimposing

colors,althoughinthiscase

theartisthas preferredto re-stricthisuseofcolorsin

or-derto let the color of the papertoshowthrough.

Greatcareshould

be

taken

tokeepthepastels clean. After

eachuse, rubthepastelona pieceofclothto

remove

any remainsofothercolors.

Thesticksofpastelshouldbe cleanedafterevery usetoremove

othercolors.

How

toStore

Your

Paintings

Contrarytoitsappearance, pastelisaverystable

medium

iftreatedcarefully;so

when

a

work

isfinished, either inthe

studiooroutdoors,itshouldbe storedinafolderseparated

by

sheetsof

wax

paperorvellum.

No

fixativeshouldbeapplied

tothefinalsurfaceasittendsto

turn thepigmentsdulland life-less.

MORE

INFORMATION

Rural buildings, distant planes

p.56

THE

MEDIUM

WATERCOLORS

AND

THE LANDSCAPE

One

ofthepictorial

mediums

mostsuitedtolandscapepainting

due

toits

immediacy

and

chromaticpotentialiswatercolor.

From

Diirer

down

tothepresentday,this

medium

has

been

adaptedtoeverypictorial

challenge

because

ofitsflexibility

and

transparentbrilliance.It

was

not,however, considered"true" paintinguntilthelastcentury.

As

regardslandscapepainting,watercolorisinvaluablefor

making

prehminarysketches. Thisisnotan easytechnique,in thatthe transparent natureofthe

medium

tendsto

revealevery underlyingstrokeof paint,including the mistakes.

However,itisundoubtedly

one

ofthemostbeautifulpictorial

mediums

everdeveloped.

Basic paintboxforthe

watercolohst.

Materials

Glycerineforslowing

thedrying process, alcohol

foracceleratingit.

Certain basic materials are necessaryforpaintingin

wa-tercolors:watercolor paints(in

tubs, tubes, or hquid form), paper, a

work

surface,Scotch' tapeand thumbtacks, wa-tercolor brushes, ajar for the water,

and

a

sponge and

dampen-ingpaper.

Othermaterialsinclude

glycerine(afew dropsinthe

watercolor slows

down

the dry-ingtime),

wax

forresisting paint in certainareas (areascovered

in

wax

willprotect the paper fromwatercolorpaints),aknife

or other pointed object (for

scratchingthepapertocreate

different effects), salt (a few

grainsonthewetsurface creates

a mottledeffect)andahairdryer

tospeedupthedryingprocess.

A

completepaintboxfor

outdoor work.

Plywood board

A

suitable

box

Trayforbrushes

and tubedpaints

Collapsiblen\etal stool Collapsible tripod-type easel

A

Spontaneous

yet

Complex

Medium

The

medium

ofwatercoloris,

ofcourse,waterand

gum

arabic.

Thispigmentis dissolvedand

bound

intoasubstancethat

be-comes

hardened ifthe water evaporates.Itcanbe usedlater

by addingwater;theamountof

water

added

willvary depend-ingonthedensity required.

Watercolors are almost

totallytransparentand can be applied on wetoron dry sur-faces,or,

by

usingboth tech-niques,can achievea variety

ofeffects.

The transparent nature of

this

medium

revealsallthe un-derlying layers of paint.It is

one ofthe fewtechniques in

whichcorrection

isimpossible.

CharlesReid,Toulouse-Lautrec. Forthefirstmodernpainters,

watercolorwasthequickestand most

directmedium.Artistswould

constantly venture out of portable studioswith their lightequipmentto

Evaluating Planes

in

Pastels

Watercolors

and

the

Landscape

Acrylics

and

the

Landscape

Landscapes are particularly suitedto thistechnique,asboth

thecompositionandthedrawing allow

much

greater flexibility

thaninaportraitorstillhfe.

Paintingalandscapeon

wet paper.

Aftertheunderpainting

dries,carefulbrushwork

ispossible.

Finished landscape. Both techniques,watercoloronwet

paper andwatercolorondry paper,havebeenused.

How

toopen upwhites; adry brush appliedto thewetbackground

absorbsthe color.

Turner

and

the

Landscape

Turnerproducedthis

groveoftreeswitha

restrained use of color, allowing for

maximal useofthe

whiteofthe paper, while at the same timeemployingthe dry method in

cer-tainareas.

Painting

on

Wet

Paper

Paintingona surfacewetted with abrushor

sponge

allows the paint to

expand

and spread overthe entire area.

The water should not

be

al-lowedtoformpuddles; the pa-per is porous

enough

to

absorbthenecessaryamount

ofwater.

Drawing

isbasicto water-color painting,and should

be

done

beforewetting the pa-per.

Once

it is wet and

at-tachedtoarigidbackingwith waterproofscotch tape

we

can eitherwaitforittodryor

we

canbegintoapplycolors im-mediately.

When

painting in

watercolor onawetsurface, the paintwillbegintospread, one color into another. This canbecontrolled with adry spongeorblottingpaper.

A

cautionarynote:avoid

ruin-ing a paintruin-ing opportunityjust

because a small but critical

element, suchastape or

wa-ter,

was

notincludedinyour watercolorkit.

Painting

on

Dry Paper

Ifthe paper is allowed to

dryafterbeing tapeddown,it will

become

tautasitcontracts with theevaporationofwater. Watercolor can then

be

ap-plied withfar

more

accuracy thanona

dampened

surface. The dry techniquealsogives the artist far

more

control of finedetailandtexture.

Combining

awet technique

for thesky

and

adrier tech-nique for the treesand

fore-ground can produce an

excitingresult.

Frottageiscarried out

onadrysurface,usinga

very small quantity of paint

onthebrush.

A

cloudproducedbydry-brushing

thecolorfromthewetpaper.

MORE

INFORMATION

Differenttechniques forpainting

trees p. 12

Typesofbrushstrokes:applying

paint p.42

1

THE

MEDIUM

ACRYLICS

AND

THE

LANDSCAPE

Acrylic paintisthemost importanttechnical

development

incontemporaryvisualart.

Acryhc

paintis

comprised

ofwater

and

polymerizedresin,

and

issolubleinwater

and

requiresnoothersolvent.

Acrylic paintappears almostidenticaltooilpaint,the differencebeingthatitdriesalmost immediately.

We

cantherefore paintwith a

medium

that

combines

therichnessofoil

combined

with the

speed

ofdryingofwatercolor.Itcan haveeither amatteorglossfinish

depending on

thewishesoftheartist.

Acrylicresin

and pigments

forproducing

acrylic paint.

What

IsAcrylic

Resin?

Acrylic paintis

composed

basicallyofparticlesof poly-merized(synthetic)resin

and

water;itsdensity

depends

on

theproportionofwateradded. Itcan havea translucent or milky appearance

when

ap-plied

mixed

with

much

water

inrepeatedcoats.

The rangeofcolorsacrylics offersusis aswideasthatof

oils.

Thereare two

characteris-ticsthat

make

this

medium

so

versatile.

One

is the

speed

withwhichitdriesandthe

sec-ond

is itssolubility inwater. Acrylic paint can

be

made

at

home

by

simplymixingand

stirring resin

and

pigment. However,formostartistsitis

advisable to

buy

it in tubes

likeoilpaints.

A

Good

Technique

for

Landscapes

Acrylic paintsdry very

quick-ly,maintaining a stableand

lu-Acrylic paint

m

tubes.

minouscolor.

We

canachieve the

same

effects with this

medium

as

we

canwithoilsor watercolors

by

simply varying

theproportionofwater. Beingawater-basedpaint,

we

can useiton paperaswell as canvas. Its resinous base allows ustopainton any non-greasysurface.These

proper-ties

mean

that

we

can use

acrylics foralmostany kindof

landscape.

A

painting can

be

quickly roughed-outwithacrylics

and

thencontinuedinoil,afterthe

acrylichasdried.

Largesurfacessuchasthe sky, mountains,

and

back-grounds

may

bequickly

paint-ed

with wide brushes,

and

may

be

refinedandblended whilethe paintisdrying.

Acrylic allowsyouto

paintlightoverdark,

asitistotallyopaque.

A

treecanbepaintedbyfirst

brushing-inthatpart ofthe

backgroundcontaining

Watercolors

Acrylics

Oils

and

the

Landscape

and

the

Landscape

and

the

Landscape

%':^c..

Olivegreenisusedasafoundation

forbrightercolors.

Stressingtherelationshipof

colors,achromatismsimilar tothatofoilscanbe

achieved.

Disadvantages

Acrylicpaint'sgreat advan-tage sometimes

becomes

a

disadvantage, as theweather has a great effect on drying

time.

When

paintingoutdoors onahot day, the paintwilldry veryrapidly,evenwhile still

onthe palette.Topreventthis,

only theamountofpaintto

be

apphed

shouldbe placed on

the palette.

The brushes must also

be

carefullycaredfor,becauseif

they are allowed to dry out,

they will

become

useless. Therefore, frequentimmersion

inwaterisnecessary.

Textured

Work

Aswithoil,impasto painting (appUcation ofthick paint) is

alsopossible with acryhc.The

flexiblenatureofthe

medium

allows the creation ofheavy

tex-tureswith apalette knife with-out futuredangerofcracking.

Afterlaying out the formsin alandscape withthin paint,the

impasto techniquecanbe ap-plied with either palette knife or brush often creating

tex-turesthatcorrespondtosuch elements in actual subjects suchasrocksandtrees.

The

Palette

and

Color

The range of colors in acrylicpaintingisaswideas that of oils, although certain tones

may

fadeslightly

when

dry,afactortoconsider

when

placing certain colorsin rela-tiontoothers.This

drawback

Theapplicationofpaintcanbe

liquidandtransparent.Acrylic paintdriesveryquickly,allowing successive layers of colortobe

in:imediatelyapplied.

Applying the

Medium

tothe

Theme

Acrylicpaintsmakeit

possi-ble to complete a picture very rapidly. It is ideal for

painting landscapes using thealiaprimatechnique.

The detailed work can be done next, unhurriedly but withsufficientspeed soas

to allow for color blending while thepaintis stilldrying.

MORE

INFORMATION

Differenttechniquesforpainting

trees p. 12

Colorblendingispossible while

thepaintisstillfresh.

can

be

duetothe quality of the

resinusedinthepaintandthe

purity of thepigment. Generally speaking, dark-ening of colors as they dry occurs

more

often in pure colors, suchas cobalts. This

is

why

itisadvisable touse top qualitybrandstoensure

Out-of-the-tubeacrylic

paintcanbeworked

inmuchthesame wayasoil. thestabilityofthe

colors.

Mixing on the palette is carried out in

much

the

same

way

asinoil

paint, bothfor the chromatic

evalua-tionandthedirectapplication

ofthecolor,always bearingin

mind

that slightvariationsin

^

sz

THE

MEDIUM

OILS

AND

THE LANDSCAPE

The

"queen

oftechniques,"oils,has

come

down

tousfromthetimeit

was

introducedinto Italy

from Flanders duringtheRenaissance.

Itisauniquetechnique, dries slowly,

and

remainsstableovertime.Itoffersan almost

infinite

number

oftextures

and

hues,whichexplains

why

mostpaintersuseitforlandscape paintmg.

One

ofthe

main

featuresof this

medium

istheopportunityto

make

changes duringalongdryingtime.Forthisreason,oil istheperfect

medium

forthose

who

approach

their

work

with uncertainty..

Palette

Paintbox

material.

Paletteandbrushes.

A

Traditional

Technique

Oilistheearhest

known

pic-torialtechniqueaftertempera

and

fresco,

and

itis

beheved

thatoneofits firstuses

was

in

landscapepainting.

Throughout its history, oil

painthasserved every

need

of the visualartist.Thisis particu-larly true for the landscape

painter.

Oilpaintiscomprisedofoil

(walnut orlinseed)and

turpen-tine inequalproportion, plus pigment. Pure turpentine is

alsousedasasolvent. Oilcan producegentle gra-dationsofluminouscolorsfor

painting skies; abrupt tonal separationsonthe horizonto

differentiate planes, or

de-tailed

work

such as flowers andother delicateelementsin thelandscape.

Maulsticks allow steady brushstrokes.

Paletteknivesandmaulstick.

Acrylics

and

the

Landscape

Oils

and

the

Landscape

Alternating

Techniques

I

Chromatic

Potential

Oil is an unrivaled tech-nique.Itisthepictorial

medi-um

that best represents the mostsubtletonalvariationsof asinglecolor.If

we

observea

tree

we

cansee the

numerous

colorsthatenvelopit,

and

oil

can reproduce these if the

artist's perceptionis able to

capture them.

Usingjustthree colors

(yel-low, blue,andred) plus white

we

canpaintanycolorin

na-ture.Ifacertain chromatic ap-proachischosen(cool,warm.

With three colors pluswhite,

anychromaticrangecanbe

developed.

Religious

Scenes

The Churchwasthe patronofart untilalmosttheeighteenth

cen-tury.Artistsoftenintroducedlandscapes,orevennudes,intothe

religious subject.

Thisoilpainting,createdbyCarpaccioin1520,isasannpleofthe technicalpossibilitiesofferedbythisnnediunn.Thechronnatic

gra-dationsandplasticpotential ofoils letus achieve unique

represen-tations of nature.

orneutral),the resultingtonal variations willbelongtoa

har-monicsetof colors.

The primary colors are

mixed

to obtain the secon-daries(yellowandblue pro-duce green, yellow and red produceorange, blueand red produceviolet).

SurfacesforOil

You

canpaintwithoilon

vir-tuallyanykindofsurface, pro-videdithas

been primed

with a sealer(glue,varnish,or

plas-tic). For painting landscapes outdoors, it is always advis-able tohavea rigid surface, such as cardboard, canvas-covered cardboard, plywood, or masonite, although

we

shouldalways considerusing stretched canvas, especiallyif

small or

medium

insize.

Virtues of Oil

Being a dense, luminous, and

opaque

medium,

oil

makes

itpossibleto

make

cor-rectionsduringthecourseof

thepaintingand evenafteritis

finished.Thisenablestheartist

to

add

or

remove

elements fromthelandscape, orchange

colorsandforms.

Landscapepaintinginoil

of-ten requires correcting. The positionofa tree

may

notbe quiteright, bushes

may

con-ceal partofaplaneand

need

removing,andsoon. Oilisthe ideal

medium

for

beginners, aschanges can

be

made

asoftenasnecessary. Forthelandscapepainter,the

work mustbeeasyto carry. Thishandleseparatesthe

paintingsinorder

tocarry them.

MORE

INFORMATION

Alternatingtechiuquesp. 22

Thefastsketch:outdoorequipment

THE

MEDIUM

ALTERNATING

TECHNIQUES

Thereisan importantcautioninpainting:"Paintfatoverlean."Followingthisrulethere

isnolimittothe creative possibihtiesininterpreting alandscape. Experimentingwith varioustechniqueswilloftenresult insurprisingeffects that will

enhance

yourpainting.

Alternating Acrylic

and

Oil

When

acrylicpaintdries,its

surface is flat, i.e., non-oily,

and

therefore can

accommo-dateoilpaint.

If,inalandscape,thefirst

applicationofpaintisnot

giv-en an opportunityto dry, it

will tendto

mix

with subse-quentcoats of paint, giving an

unwanted

muddy

lookto

the colors. This

problem

can

be

overcome by

doing the

initialwork,

and

even

some

ofthe

more advanced

work,

inacrylicpaint.

The

painting

willdry

much

faster

and

can then

be completed

usingoil

colors.

Although doing the initial

work

in acrylic is similar to

workinginoils,acrylic offers a

number

ofcreative

opportuni-tieswhileinthe dryingstages,

suchassmearing

and

theuse

of frottage.

Acrylicpaint dries

quickly.

Acrylicpaintcanbe usedthroughallstages ofthework.

Quick Beginning

and

Slow

Completion

Working methods that

in-volve the use of different

techniquesrequirea consci-entious and thoughtful ap-proach.Thebeginningstages

of painting, involving

compo-sitionandcolorscheme,are usuallydonerapidly. Howev-er,theartistmustbecareful

nottoinvolvetoomuch de-tail, in thatsimplicityisthe keytopictorialpower.

Thefinishandfinal details

ofthepaintingcanbe

undertakenoncethe acrylic

r^^^R^^^m

Oils

and

the

Landscape

Alternating

Techniques

The

Fast

Sketch:

Outdoor

Equipment

Working

intheStudio Landscapepaintingshould not be confined to working outdoors. Studio

work

canbe

just as rewarding as

when

workinginthe countryside,in that

many

experimental processes cannot

be

accom-plished outdoors.

A

photograph can

be

used

inthe studioforpreliminary work, sketching

may

be

car-ried out, and, of course, whatever

comes

from the imagination. There are

infi-nite possibilities, from en-largingwith aphotocopierto

work

incollage,plus experi-mentingwithallsorts of tech-niques.

Beginningwithasingle

col-orsketchofalandscape, vari-ationsonthetechniques and

sizescanbe

worked

on, meth-odsthataredifficuhtoattempt outdoors. Inaddition, the

in-door studio provides one's

store ofartmaterials,running

water,andhghtatnight.

Photographsandgraphic

materials. Useful for

workinginthe studio.

Combining

Techniques

Many

techniques can

be

used

when

starting with the subjectof alandscape.If

you

aregoingtocreateacollage,

arigidsupport suchas card-boardor

wood

isadvisable. Also necessary are glue (white carpenter's glueif

pos-MORE

INFORMATION

Acrylicsandthelandscapep.18

sible),scissors,a knife,

differ-entkindsofpaper,plus pho-tographs,etc.

Designing and drawing a landscapeisabovealla

work

ofsynthesis,thepiecesof pa-perbeingarrangedontopof

the support.

They

shouldnot

be

glued

down

untilyouare sureaboutthecomposition.

The planes inthe distance are thefirsttobeapplied,

us-ingglueandabrush.The

re-maining planes are then superimposed.

Once

thecollageisinplace,

you

may

wantto

add

paintto

lendunity to the

work

or to highlight certain forms.

Cutoutsfrommagazinesand

coloredpaperareuseful for

producinga collage.

Differentmaterialsandtools forcreatingacollage.

Aninitiallayoutmust

alwaysbeused.

Youcanphotocopy your ownwork and applyit asa variation.

SURFACES, MATERIALS,

AND

ACCESSORIES

THE

FAST

SKETCH:

OUTDOOR

EQUIPMENT

One

ofthemost

common

ways

oflearning

how

topaintlandscapesisto

go

out

and

paintspontaneouscolorsketchesofthesubject

on

thesite.

The

sketchisanexerciseincapturingthesubject

you

haveinfrontofyou, a taskthat

requires constant practiceinordertoobtain a varietyofinterestingresults.

Drawing,scale,composition,

and

colorarebut afewofthefactors thatmust

be

considered

when

doinga sketch.

Sinceartistsrequireveryhttle

equipment

forsketching,theycan

go

practically

anywhere

tosketch.

The

Easel

Outdoor painting easels must

be

light,sturdy,and easy

touse.

An

outinginthecountry can

be

torturous if

you

go

loaded

down

withequipment

thatis

more

of anuisance than anaid.Thereforeitisessential tochooseasuitable easel.The paper

pad

should

be

of the typethatcan

be

used bothfor

drawing

and

for watercolor painting.

A

pieceofmasonite or

plywood

willdo as a

sup-port.

A

fold-up metallic easel

is mostversatile for outdoor paintingasitissmallandlight.

A

box-easel.

Materials:

Watercolors,

Ink,Oils,

and

Pastels

One

doesn't require

much

equipment for painting fast

sketches. Take along only whatyoureallyneed.

•_{Forwatercolor}

itis

essen-tialtohavepapertopainton;

there is a wide variety to

choosefrom. Fineand rough surfacepaper can

be

bought

insheets orpads.

Fine surfacepaper brings out thetransparencybutdoes not allow too

much

color satu-ration. Watercolor brushes are

made

of avarietyof

deli-cate fine hairs, the best of

whichare

made

ofsable.

The

most convenient

way

of pro-tecting your brushes during transportationisto roll

them

Padsofdrawingpaper andwatercolor paper.

Differenttypes of

Alternating

Techniques

The

Fast

Sketch:

Outdoor

Equipment

Working

in

the Studio

A

completewatercolorkit. upincardboard. Watercolor paints

come

inavarietyof

dif-ferent packaging. There are several specially designed paintboxesforpainting

out-door sketches thatinclude a watercontainer.

• Ink. Ifyou want topaint yoursketchesin ink,you can dosoonwatercolor paper,

al-thoughitisbetterto

work

ona

more

glossysurface.India ink

issoldinbottlesand, since ink

isawatermedium, youwill

re-quire a containerof

some

sort fordilutingitandforcleaning thebrushes. Inkcan

be

with applied with abrushora

pen

nib.

Reed

pensare especially

good

forobtaininglarge,

lan-guid strokes. Paper towels, cottoncloths,and spongesare

Indiainkisavailablein differentcontainei

Reed pens

foruse

withink.

Varioususefulaccessories

forwatercolorandink.

essential

when

workingwith watercolor orink.

•Pastels.

Dry

techniques, suchas drawing

and

pastel painting requirelittle equip-ment.Drawingpaper,apiece

ofcardboardtouse as

sup-port, pencils or pastels, a hard

and

asofteraser,

and

a smallknifeshouldsuffice.

•Oils.

Make

up your

mind

rightfromthestart.Are

you

walking to the painting site

and

must therefore carry as basic akitas possible, or are

you

driving

and

canafforda

full box-easel? Regardless,

make

alist

and

check every itembefore leaving.

Drawing Pads and

Ca

nvas

The

artist

may

choose from a

wide

variety of drawing

pads

and

sheetsofdifferent

Differentaccessoriesrequired

in oilpainting.

qualities. Sizes range from large to pocket-sized ver-. sions, the latterbeingideal

fortakingonexcursions. With regards to working surfaces, you should choose

sizes that are easy to carry around.

Some

brands of can-vasboardfitintostandard-size

paintboxes.

The

C

a

mera

The

camera

is extremely useful for the landscape

painter,

who

canuseittotake photographsofthesubjectand thenusethephotosin

conjunc-The

Impressionist

Landscape

Monet,together withhis Im-pressionistcolleagues,

paint-ed nnost of his pictures out-of-doors,striving to cap-ture the colorsand light of

themoment,

Until Impressionism, many

paintersworkedsolelyinthe studio. This

new

working

habit brought about new,

lightereasels.

tion with painted notes for futurepaintings.So always

re-member

totake afewpictures

of the subject used in your sketches.

Paintingoutdoorsisalwaysa thrillingexperience, especially

ifyouarewell-equipped.

MORE

INFORMATION

Watercolors and the landscape

p. 16

Acrylicsandthelandscapep. 18 Oilsandthelandscapep.20

3

SURFACES, MATERIALS,

AND

ACCESSORIES

WORKING

IN

THE

STUDIO

The

landscape

need

not

be

paintedsolelyinthecountryside.Artistscanalso

work

in

the studio with the notes

and

photographstheyhave takenofthe subject.Furthermore, theycanreverttophotographsinmagazines

and even

postcards.

In additiontothenecessityfor

good

organizationbothintermsofmaterials

and

ideas, the studiomust

meet

a

number

ofbasicrequirements.

Goodlightingisoneof

themostessential requisites forworking

inthe studio.

Illumination

Lightingisoneofthemost importantelementsinany stu-dio. Thepainter'sworkplace requires at least three main

lightsources.

•

A

window

that lets in day-Hghttoilluminatetheworking surface andthe subject, thus allowing theartistto

compare

thetwotoensurethatthe chro-maticismiscorrect.

•

An

_overheadlamp,usedto

remove

unwanted shadows.

•

A

goose-necked

lamp

at-tachedtothe easelforUghting

the subject.

The

Use

of

Photographs

and

Sketches

The landscapeartistusually hasacollectionofbooks

and

photographs that can be

re-ferredto

when

searchingfor

new

ideas. The photographs andnotestakenonoutingscan provide onewith interesting

startingpoints.

Itisusefultopositionthe

sub-jectnear thepainting, prefer-ably on the

same

plane and with auniformlightingsource.

A

photograph provides only a

partialviewofthe subject, for

whichreasonitisadvisablethat

youtake severalsnapshotsofthe subjectfromdifferent angles.

Photographsandnotes are of invaluable aidfor theartist.

The

Fast Sketch:

Outdoor Equipment

Working

in

the Studio

Landscape Composition

Basic

Equipment

and

Furniture

You

willneed

some

basic

fur-niture in order to

make

your workinthe studiocomfortable andpleasant.Youreaselhasto

besturdyand stable.

A

work

surfacecanbeimprovised with twosawhorsesandafirmsheet

ofplywoodfordrawing and ex-amining photographs.The

light-ing shouldbestrongandwhite,

preferably 100-W daylight bulbsor fluorescentfixtures.

Thepaintingequipmentand accessoriesmust

be

kepttidy

andwithineasyreach. Finally,youwill

need

sever-al containers to

keep

your brushesupright;also contain-ers or shelvestostore pencils, pastels, paint,andothertools.

A

sturdy studio

easel.

Working

inthe Studio

Youdon'tneeda largestudio

for painting.

A

well-organized smallandtidyspaceis ade-quate.

Lightisoneofthemost im-portant factorsinapainter's

studio.Thebesttypeof light-ingisfromasource opposite

from the artist's working

hand.

'

iL^fvMX

Thecorrectdistributionof elementsina studio.

Otheritemsmightincludea collection ofartbooks, amusic system,stoolsandchairs,a hot

plate for coffee,etc.

Use

of

Outdoor

Equipment

Fieldsketches areused to

captureimpressionsfrom

na-tureandputthemtousein de-veloping a future painting.

Draw

as

many

sketches and take as

many

photographsas youcan.

When

it

comes

topainting a subject in the studio, the

artist should have as

much

graphicmaterial as

pos-sibleavailable.

Animprovisedworksurface.

Cleaning

Materials

Your materials should be kept cleanandtidyso they are easytolocateatanygiven mo-ment.Ifyouareworkingin

dif-ferent media, it is useful to

keep

the materials relatingto

eachseparately.

Each

medium

requires a

differenttypeofcare. Water-based

mediums

like

watercol-or,tempera, oracrylicscan

be

cleanedunderthe tap; oilis

cleanedwith turpentine

and

then soap; dry mediums,like pastels,arekept clean

by

rub-bing adirty cloth overtheir points.

Differentwatercontainers,

idealforcleaningbrushes

and workingwithwatercolor.

A

clothisessential for

paintinginpastel.

MOREmrORMATION

Different techniques for painting trees p. 12

Alternatingtechniquesp. 22

Thefastsketch:outdoor equipment

p.24

Thequick sketchinlead pencil