Woodland Tracks

While the rest of Europe is suffering temperatures in the high 30’s we have a more relaxed 16 to 20. Our visitors from Germany were glad to leave 38 degrees and enjoy our balmy 18. Its little wonder the countryside is a shimmering green and its always a challenge for the painter of landscapes to convey this lushness without saturating the canvas in a monotony of green.

The green shades here are a product of Cadmium Yellow, Burnt Umber and Prussian Blue (the only colours used in the entire painting). The Cadmium and Prussian do produce a vibrant green but need a touch of red – in this case Burnt Umber, to appear more natural. Burnt Umber is a weak red so its affect is less dramatic than other reds I’ve used like Permanent Rose or Alizarin Crimson. Its also introducing hints of Autumn now appearing in the drier corners of the woodlands.

I’m still using the single bristle brush technique to paint the bulk of the painting. This requires a bit of planning in the way colour mixes merge from one to the next. I think its possible because of the limited number of colours used. The movement from blue through green and finally yellows and oranges is easy enough, but white in the later stages of the sky colours has to be worked out of the brush in the distant areas building up to the rich dark shadows of the foreground. At this point there is very little white left in the brush so mid tones are very strong before white is again introduced for the warm highlights.

The painting is (16″x10″).

Here’s the video, see you soon.