July Woodland

Dappled sunlight in the woods, as a painting subject, responds well to the ‘Impressionist’ treatment.

In my recent paintings I have been using a technique which produces an ‘Impressionist style’ end result. As I use only 3 colours ‘Impressionism’, in its traditional form, is difficult to achieve with such a limited palette. Remember this movement in art is characterised by strong, opposite colours applied in alternating strokes to produce a vibrant painting. Although I like ‘Impressionism’ I don’t like the ‘mechanical’ application of the principal with regard to the paint strokes. I sometimes think it was a reaction to the previous dull, flat paint layers and ended up being a distraction.

To make the most of the 3 colours used in this painting I use a method similar to the watercolour technique of applying transparent under layers and allowing some of this colour to show through in the final painting. I can get the vibrant colours but I can also apply the paint in a more graphical representative way.

The painting is approx. 16″ x 12″ and was painted in a single ‘wet on wet’ session in under 2 hours. I used a single filbert bristle No. 12 (1″ wide) and a ‘liner’ for fine lines. The colours are Indian Yellow, Permanent Rose, Cobalt Blue plus black and white. There is no medium used, only White Spirits (solvent).

Here’s the painting method. See you soon.