Painting - Painting - Painting

Getting Unstuck

It seems like I haven't painted in forever.

Lots of family things going on

and it seems like painting was getting

 further and further away from me. 

Sometimes when you haven't painted for a while,

it's hard to start again.

When that happens to me,

I usually paint something I'm comfortable with.

I started taking a video,

but I goofed that up and it didn't work out.

 I started out trying to lighten up my palette

but that didn't work out either.

I used two new blues, Alexander Blue and Phalo Blue,

so I mixed them and added white for the sky.

Then I started adding the distant trees and 

began to bring them forward.

Then I decided to add one fall tree.

There's a point in most paintings when it's ugly,

when you can't believe you even know how to paint.

That's where I was here.

 

 But you keep going.

Here I'm starting to add the smallest of branches.

You can't really see that I'm adding branches

 in lots of different directions. 

You don't start at one side and work your way around,

You sort of hop all over the painting,

here a few, there a few,

until you're happy with the result.

This is a close up of the branches.

I used a #1 script liner.

Your paint has to be more like ink.

You'll need to add water to your brush

and roll your brush in the paint in order to load it.

 

I add the darkest leaves first.

I used dioxazine purple, burnt sienna and cad red light,

and pounced a rough brush on the limbs.

You need more leaves in the middle and less on the edges.

 

 I added cad orange med to the leaf mixture

and added some highlights on those leaves.

I also added the shadow on the ground.

I took the green of the grass and added its compliment, red.

You don't want a black shadow, you just want a grayer color.

I usually just add the compliment, the color opposite on the color wheel to make a shadow.

Putting final highlights on the leaves by adding cad yellow light to the leaf mixture.

I added some grasses at the bass of the trunk to seat the trunk into the ground.

Made sure the highlights on the leaves were lightest

on the edges on the right. 

  

Added more grasses, pods on the grass

and checked the trunk to make sure I was happy with it.

This was painted on 140 lb water color paper

taped on to a board.

This painting was just practice to get me back painting.

When I want to get back on track,

I paint something I'm familiar with.

I love painting trees, rocks and skies,

so I paint them as a warm up,

so to speak.

Then I'm ready to try something new or different.

If you'd like to learn to paint from the ground up,

click HERE to see my online beginning painting course. 

Great for the person who's wanted to learn to paint,

but doesn't know where to start.

Click HERE to visit my Etsy shop to see

all my items.

I have paintings, (shock), vintage linens, home decor

and even a vintage doll or two.  

 I offer FREE shipping on many items

like this painting in my Etsy shop.

Thanks for stopping by today.

Leave me a comment on how you get unstuck.