A Painterly Drive!

Today I decided to get out and go for a drive, to anywhere that inspired me to paint! I found myself intrigued by the bright yellow colour of the gorse bushes, outlining the surrounding hills. Once I had found a place to stop the car, I analysed my view to determine the best composition for a painting. I then completed a charcoal drawing of my chosen composition and then dived straight into painting on an A4 canvas board!

Choosing a similar way to work as the last time, I began by mixing the darkest colour which was to be present in my painting (from blue, red and yellow) to under-paint the definition of the hills in the distance. By starting with this darkest tone, I could then layer up colours present within the scene, leaving the lightest tones until last.

Once the background of my painting was complete, I then depicted the tree in the foreground of my composition. Again, I started with the darkest colour to paint out the shape of the tree and then mixed a lighter colour, which I applied on top of parts of the tree to represent where the light was hitting its surface.