How to paint Van Gogh style

Colours

Titanium white

Ultramarine blue

Pyrrole red deep

Permanent red violet light

Permanent orange

Permanent yellow light

Burnt sienna

Permanent green deep

Yellow ochre

Ivory black

Paint in the style of Vincent van Gogh

'Since working on the film Loving Vincent (shown in UK cinemas in 2018) and developing an even deeper affection for Vincent van Gogh’s work, I now sharpen my painting skills by making copies of his paintings,' says Sarah Wimperis.

Cornish Summer Garden, water-mixable oil on canvas, (60x80cm)

I am very attracted to gardens and paint them often. This quintessential cottage garden is in the village where I live. I will start a painting like this with a quick sketch, perhaps a small gouache painting and some photographs then the bigger painting will be worked up from all the references.

'While I was working on the film I spent eight hours a day, six days a week for five months studying, mixing the colours and copying Van Gogh’s works then animating them, brushstroke by brushstroke.

'Studying a painting by one of your favourite artists, and trying to see how they were constructed and created, is an interesting way to practise your brushwork and colour mixing while taking you slightly out of your comfort zone. You can be any kind of painter, from complete beginner to professional, and still benefit from a little artistic keep fit with Vincent! As with everything, you must practise painting and keep practising in order to become confident and happy with your creations, and keep your creative muscles fit and toned.

'In this article, I want to walk you through a copy of one of Van Gogh’s paintings, Garden at the Asylum, step-by-step. Following these steps will help you to paint your own version and apply some of the techniques that we used while making the film. You may well end up with a different colour mix, which could be deliberate or by chance; it doesn’t matter. What matters is that you have mixed colours and used your brushes in different ways, perhaps tried ideas that are new to you and, most important of all, you have spent a few hours immersed in the act of painting and that you have enjoyed yourself.

'You can, if you wish, apply the same principles to an image of your own, for example a photograph that you have taken of your own garden or view.'

Cornish Palms, water-mixable oil on canvas, (60x40cm)

This was painted en plein air in my own garden so I could take my time in painting it. I left many things out, including a paddling pool, to suit the painting.

The materials

For the following demonstration painting I used a set of ten Royal Talens’ Cobra Water Mixable Oil Paints.

These paints can be used straight from the tube to paint thickly, or impasto, just like traditional oils.

They are soft enough for easy mixing and with high pigment content so you can mix up a huge variety of colours with just a few tubes.

With the addition of a little water, you can achieve a wash similar to watercolour.

The clean up just uses water so the paints are ideal for working in places where the use of solvents would be inappropriate.

Before you begin

'The first step is to mix up pools of colour, enough for the whole painting. I prepare them all so that while painting I can work without breaks, in an enthusiastic frenzy, just like Vincent!

'By using just a few tubes of paint to mix the colours, the painting will have a natural cohesion. It is amazing how many colours can be mixed from a relatively limited palette.

'By mixing colours first and collecting them on the palette it encourages the use of more shades and tones of colour. Just think of green. There is a great temptation to use just one green, straight from the tube when, in reality, there are many shades and tones of green. Look around and you will see blue-green, lime-green, olive-green, soft green, dull green, pale green, lemon-green – it goes on and on.

'There really is no point in trying to learn paint recipes. The best and by far the most effective method is to play and mix up as many greens that you can with the paints that you have so you will begin to learn what you can do. For example, take lemon yellow and add a tiny amount of black… you will make a lovely olive-green. Of course, this doesn’t only apply to green; it’s all the colours. So, with that in mind, let’s mix our colours.'

Blues

Mix three different tones of blue by adding a little ultramarine blue to white with a tiny speck of the permanent red violet light. I added the pink to soften the blue mix, but you could try something else, like a speck of burnt sienna. Always add the darker colour to the lighter colour until the shade that you want is created.

I used a palette knife to mix the colours, by squashing and scraping them up. It’s like making butter soft – flatten it, spread it out then gather it up again until it is mixed. I then placed the colour on the palette in a little pile.

I repeated this process until I had three different blues, as well as straight-from-the-tube ultramarine blue.

Purple

Make a soft purple with permanent red violet light and ultramarine blue with different amounts of white.

Greens

Experiment with yellow ochre, permanent yellow and orange. Add a little white to some yellows and add a little blue to others, until you have made several darker greens and several paler greens.

Yellows

To make a soft buttery yellow, add tube yellow to white, add a speck of burnt sienna to some, and add a little speck of orange to another. Do the same with a mix of yellow ochre and white, resulting in a selection of different yellows.

Brown-orange

Soften up burnt sienna by adding yellow ochre with a little white then dirty up some orange by adding specks of green and white.

The dark tone

I used a dark ‘drawing’ paint at the end, which was mixed from tube green, tube blue and burnt sienna. This dark, rich and lively mix won’t kill the painting the way a dull black would.

Demonstration: Garden at the Asylum

Garden at the Asylum, Cobra Water Mixable Oils, (42x30cm)

1. First of all colour your surface using burnt sienna with water and literally scrub the watery paint over the entire surface.

2. Once this is dry, roughly divide the board into thirds and divide the reference photograph into corresponding thirds. This gives a convenient guide to help place the elements of the picture correctly.

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1. Mark out the plan of the painting by drawing the big basic shapes using a thinned down mix of ultramarine and burnt sienna and a smallish brush. Vincent drew with a lot of straight lines.

2. Also make some indications of the direction of the brushstrokes. The direction of the brushmarks is very important, as they describe the shapes of objects, almost sculpting them in paint. I think about the way things grow or are built.

3. Paint the small area of blue sky, noticing the direction of the brushstrokes. As you lay the paint on the board, roll the brush. Don’t work it in, but leave it as a deliberate mark as you want the ridges of paint to show. Add the different blues next to each other to create a shimmering weave of blue. I think of hot Provençal skies as I paint this.

1. Paint the roof of the building using a slightly darker blue for the ridge tiles and straight strokes for the roof. Follow with a clean brush and pale yellow for the walls.

2. White, ultramarine blue and a little burnt sienna make a lovely soft grey for the stone work around the door.

3. Block in the greens under the trees, leaving the tree trunk shapes.

Top Tip

Even while blocking in areas try to be conscious of your brushstrokes. I think grassy thoughts as I paint the grass and follow the direction of growth with the brushmarks, imagining the sound of cicadas and feeling the heat of the sun on my back. I know it sounds a little unusual, but it helps. Try it and see!

1. Weaving the colours, add different greens to denote the different areas of grass.

2. I always become waylaid by other elements of the picture. You can see here green-yellows creeping into the path, which is fun. I think painting should be an enjoyable experience.

3. Add blue-purple on the path; this is shadow.

Develop the paths and work on the grass now. Notice all the colours I used. When I laid down the brushstrokes I worked from the back of the tussock of grass and moved forward, slightly overlapping the strokes. Build up the shape of the grass like this.

1. Paint the trunks with the dark colour then build up the under shadow of the trees.

2. Take a paler purple and put another stroke of paint onto the trunks, leaving the edges dark. It’s important to place the paint on, not to scrub or work it with more than one stroke. If it is too worked over, it will pick up the paint underneath.

3. Build up the greens for the trees. They become lighter towards the top and there is a little area of red-orange leaves, which echoes the path and breaks up the green.

Next dab in the pale flowers on the dark green bush in the foreground.

Again one dab will lay the lighter paint over the dark paint. Make one dab, wipe the brush then reload with paint; in that way you will keep the colour clean.

Add more pale leaves and specks of pale green on top of the grass then paint the side of the building with strokes of yellow and orange.

The finished painting

Garden at the Asylum, Cobra Water Mixable Oils, (42x30cm)

Sarah holds regular workshops, demonstrations, holidays and other events throughout the south-west of England. Information can be found on www.sarahwimperis.co.uk.

This demonstration is taken from the January 2019 issue of Leisure Painter.

Enjoy endless inspiration with access to past and present issues of both Leisure Painter and The Artist, plus exclusive video demos, tutorials and more, with our Studio Membership! Discover how you can join today.

How to paint Van Gogh style

Colours

Paint in the style of Vincent van Gogh

The materials

Before you begin

Blues

Purple

Greens

Yellows

Brown-orange

The dark tone

Demonstration: Garden at the Asylum

Top Tip

The finished painting

Associated Articles and Videos

How to paint architectural subjects in pastel

How to paint a window box in acrylics with Wendy Jelbert

How to paint a red telephone box in watercolour

How to paint a village scene in winter

How to paint a snow-laden street scene in oils

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