This is a peaceful little scene, easy enough for beginners. It will teach you to paint water, foliage and a few accents like the boat, the pilings and the Pelican.
Colors Needed
Board Prep
Paint surface (canvas or hard board, I used a 10×20) with mixture of White + a bit of UMB to make a light blue color. Dry
Sketch design with chalk. Measure down 3 1/2″ for horizon line. Follow design lines on image for trees, beach & water.
Do NOT transfer fence, pilings, boat or bird. We will do this after the background.
Sketch Design:
Use Chalk. measure down 3 1/2″ to create a horizon line. Follow design lines to mark trees, beach & water. Adjust to canvas size.
Do NOT transfer fence lines, pilings, pelican and boat. We will do that after the background is painted.
Begin painting (Distance)
Distant trees on Left:
Mixes of Sap Green + tch of Dioxazine Purple+tch of Ultramarine Blue + White. Use a stippling motion with a stiff bristled brush to create the effect of leaves. This should be several values from very pale to about a mid value and should kept in the grayed -blue color range.
Mid-Level Trees on Right:
Start with dark mixes of Dio. Purple + Sap green+ yellow ochre. Get lighter by adding more Sap Green + Yellow Ochre. The highlight areas will be Lt. Olive Green . This should be done by stippling as above and thinking about creating the shapes of foliage masses.
Painting the Mid-level areas
Beach area:
Using a scumbling technique (scrubbing sideways with a stiff bristled brush), with mixes of White+Raw Sienna+ tch Diox. Purple
Boat:
Sketch in or transfer the boat design (use white transfer paper). Mix a light gray from White+tch Diox. Purple +tch Black.
Mix a darker gray by adding a tch more black, for the inside of the boat and shadow areas. The highlights are White.
Painting Foreground Trees on Right & Left
Use the same colors as for the mid-level trees, starting with the darkest and working up to the lightest.
Water
Use the same colors as for the foreground trees, keeping darkest under the trees on foreground Right & Left. Scumble this in with the side of a stiff brush, allowing lights and darks to mix on canvas. Add beach color to green mixes as you come closer to the beach. Pay attention to the finished painting for placement.
Accents & Finishing
Place Fence Posts on Left side
Use gray mix from the boat to paint the fence boards first. go back with White and paint over for highlight.
Pilings:
Medium color is Medium Gray (above) & Raw Sienna. Dark areas are Burnt Umber + Diox. Purple. Highlight with White.
Ropes:
Paint with Raw Sienna
Pelican:
Sketch or transfer bird on top of largest piling. Base bird with pale gray (White + tch Black), overstroke with White.
Eye is Black + tch White. Beak is Raw Sienna
Final Touches:
Place shadows and highlights in water at base of pilings
Add shadows under boat.
Place grass at base of fenceline
So have fun with this little scene and try it on some different sizes.
Rita
Why not sign up for my monthly newsletter and get some more tips & tricks for painting with acrylics.