Old Fishing Rope on a Pebble Beach
Helen Martell explains her process of using acrylic mediums as she demonstrates a painting of a piece of old fishing rope on a pebble beach.
Explore glazing and texture with acrylic mediums
Equipment
Small squeezy bottle
Painting pebbles and rope in close up
1
Begin by sketching the outline of the pebbles in a dark colour such as indanthrene blue.
Allow the canvas to dry thoroughly.
Top Tip
Sketch the outline before applying the first wash as it's easier to see on the white background.
2
Apply a thin wash of Galeria burnt sienna and allow to dry thoroughly.
Top Tip
As the wash is thin, it's possible to go over it with a hairdryer on a low setting, then blast with a cold setting.
3
Block in some colours on the individual pebbles - remeber that pebbles come in all colours!
Also block in the old fishing rope with a vibrant turquoise.
Allow to dry.
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Top Tip
Don’t be afraid to go as bright as you like with the rope as the brightness will be softened with glazes later.
4
Next, fill in the darkest crevices between the pebbles using the dark colour you originally sketched with.
5
In a small mixing pot, mix a dark transparent colour, such as perylene green, with some matt medium to create a glaze.
6
Use this glaze to add some shading and shape to the pebbles.
7
The glaze will soften the sketch lines but retain the colours you blocked in the pebbles with.
Build up a few layers of shading by applying thinly.
It's important to allow each glaze layer to dry thoroughly before applying another layer.
Top Tip
You can use a hairdryer lightly to speed up the drying process.
8
Use a bit of white (with or without a colour) in the glaze to create highlights.
Use vibrant colours as the matt medium softens the vibrancy meaning only a tint needs to be applied to the painting.
At this stage you will have shaded and highlighted the pebbles with different coloured glazes.
Top Tip
It's worth experimenting with different colour combinations on a scrap board.
9
Add further details to the pebbles such as speckles and lines using acrylic paints and a fine brush.
10
Move on to the old fishing rope.
Build up the rope detail with lighter and darker shades of acrylic paint to define the strands of the rope.
11
To make the rope stand out out from the canvas, fill an empty squeezy bottle with some Galeria structure gel.
Draw over some of the strands of the rope with the sculpture gel straight from the bottle.
Leave to dry overnight then apply more, gradually building up the texture of the rope.
Allow the gel to dry then add one or two additional highlights to the rope.
Top Tip
You need a narrow nib on the squeezy bottle (Helen used a masking fluid refill bottle).
It can be a bit of a faff getting the gel into the small bottle!
Do not use a hairdryer to dry the gel!
12
Finish with a coat of matt varnish to protect the finished painting.
Helen has been exhibited as part of our annual TALP Open art competition where she has won several awards. See more of her work in the PaintersOnline gallery by clicking here, or visit her website, www.helenmartell.co.uk.
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