Imprimatura and sketch

I began with a wash of burnt sienna with a little black, wiped down to obtain a glow from the white gesso below.

The sketch is used simply to place the most important features and I used a thin paintbrush as the tightness of a pencil drawing can spoil the flow of the lines.

Establishing the darks using cool colours

My colour plan was to use a harmonic range (half of the colour wheel only), from orange to yellow to green and cold blue.

Using a square format for a landscape introduces the need for rethinking a traditional “landscape” format; a challenge I enjoy.

Establishing the cool warm colour balance

To balance the colours I used phthalo green and blue, a range of warmer greens, with raw sienna and yellow ochre.

This close-up shows how I begin to meld cool and warm greens, with some cutting in using a silicon kitchen scraper.

Establishing the strongest contrasts

Now is the time to begin establishing the area of strongest value contrast, with particular interest in the shaded grasses area.

I used a range of scratching, printing and scraping methods here, and added neat burnt sienna among the grasses.

Adding cold wax

I applied a cold wax mix for the distant areas, softening the edges to create a hazy effect.

Creating grass textures

I then mixed cold wax with white and yellow ochre paint and used my kitchen scraper to suggest grasses.

I then used a small piece of wood for printing between the impasto streaks of the grasses.

At this stage of the process, the textures of the foreground are beginning to create interesting contrasts with the background, with softer edges in the background and harder edges in the foreground.

Scumbling

This close-up shows how I use scumbling (dragging a heavily loaded brush with a thick paint/chalk mix) for the mid-ground area. This creates a sparkly effect and additional close interest.

Blending

I then proceeded to work further on the background, using more cold wax mixed with paint tints.

Here you can see how warm colours are blended into cool ones to unify and soften the effect.

Finishing touches

Looking at the whole painting I felt the foreground needed more drama. I wanted to create a soft-focus layer over the sharp outlines, so I spattered and dropped wet paint on to the canvas.

I wanted to bring the central tree forward a little so I added warm tones of burnt sienna mix to the greens.

You can see some of the original cutting in here, and the wide range of warm and cool greens.

The finished painting

Towards the Blue, oil on canvas, (24x24cm)

This painting expresses how I feel about one of my favourite walks without being a direct copy of a photograph.

This was a fun painting to do because of the range of techniques and materials I used.

I think the overall balance of the final painting works for both distant and close up viewing. The composition and harmonious colours work as a whole and you can enjoy the textures and effects by going up closer.

I generally find that a painting which was fun to do is usually fun to look at too!

About Barbara

Barbara has been painting in oils for more than ten years and completed a diploma course at The Norfolk Painting School.

You can see more of her work in the Painters Online gallery by clicking here and on her website and Instagram.