PROJECT
9
The Daisy Field
This was a true photo day on a little stretch of country road. I must have taken at least six views of this small scene. Painting the light fields with the shadows can be challenging for me as I paint with lots of color and tend to use deeper jewel tones. As you create your own paintings, you also will begin to establish a standard palette of colors that you find easy to work with and understand.
You could change the daisies in this field to any other wildflower. Try painting this scene without the large tree and add more fence in the foreground. The field with the daisies and water could be painted with lighter values near the top of the rise. Experiment. Should you not like what you paint, sand the canvas and try again. Be creative — it’s a good thing.
REFERENCE PHOTOS
PATTERN
This line drawing may be handtraced or photocopied for personal use only. Enlarge at 93% to bring it up to full size.
Step 1: Sky and Distant Trees Paint the sky with a no. 10 bristle flat and Cerulean Blue + White Mix in varying proportions. Use horizontal strokes. Add Shadow Mix to the sky-blue mix and apply at the top of the canvas and the right corner.
Using the same brush and the sky colors + White Mix + Sap Green, paint the distant trees. Deepen as you move downward with Sap Green + Cerulean Blue + a dot of Shadow Mix.
Step 2: Field Next to Trees Using a no. 16 sable bright and White Mix + Cerulean Blue + Sap Green + Cadmium Lemon, stroke in the back field. Vary the color proportions, keeping the center lightest and shading darker at the base of the hill.
Step 3: Trees Using a no. 5/0 liner and very light Shadow Mix + Cerulean Blue + White Mix, paint the trunks in the far field. Switching to a no. 8 sable bright and Cerulean Blue + Sap Green + Shadow Mix, tap in loose tree foliage, varying the color proportions. The wet paint helps to keep the values from getting too dark. Be sure you vary the heights and widths of the trees. With darker foliage colors, tap in tree shadows, making them darker closer to the trunks. Also, shadows at the top of the hill are darker than shadows toward the bottom. Blend a bit if necessary.
Going back to the no. 16 sable bright, tap in grass highlights in the bright, center area with White Mix + Cadmium Yellow.
Step 4: Small Field and Trees The next small field needs to be a little darker. Use a no. 16 sable bright and White Mix + French Ultramarine + Sap Green + a bit of Shadow Mix. For trees and bushes in that row, use the same brush, corner-loaded with French Ultramarine + Sap Green + White Mix in varying proportion. Shadow Mix + a dot of Cadmium Red helps gray the greens. Tap on the color and make this foliage darker at the base.
Step 5: Trees Tap highlighting on the trees with a no. 10 angular bristle and French Ultramarine + Cadmium Lemon. Pick up more Cadmium Lemon + a touch of White Mix for the final highlights. On the shadow side of the trees, tap in French Ultramarine + White Mix. Thread in a few branches with a no. 5/0 liner and Shadow Mix. Highlight with Cadmium Orange + White Mix. If the branches are too prominent, tap over them with a bit of foliage.
Step 6: Trees Paint the patch of field to the right of the shed as you did in step 4, adding a bit of Cadmium Orange. Add the little tree on the hilltop in that area as you did those in steps 3 and 5, adding a bit of Cadmium Orange and Naples Yellow in the foliage. Also paint the foliage around the building, but don’t highlight it.
Step 7: Shed Base the shed with a no. 6 sable bright and a thin layer of White Mix. Shade with Shadow Mix + French Ultramarine on the left and beneath the overhang of the roof. Add Ivory Black directly below the overhang and a few lines pulled down with the brush chisel to show the texture of the boards on the shed front. Highlight with White Mix + Cadmium Yellow Pale and Cadmium Orange.
Base the roof with Burnt Sienna. Shade with Burnt Umber and highlight with Cadmium Orange + White Mix. Add a second highlight on the roof peak with Naples Yellow.
Step 8: Grass in Foreground and Pond You may wish to mask the fence posts. Load a no. 8 fan blender with Sap Green and then add in French Ultramarine + Cadmium Yellow + White Mix and a touch of Cadmium Red. Tap in the grass. Pick up Burnt Sienna at times, varying the values of the greens and darkening them around the shed and as you move into the foreground. Paint the pond (see step 9) before finishing the grass.
Step 9: Pond Using a no. 8 sable bright, paint inside the pond’s far bank with Dark Mix + French Ultramarine + Shadow Mix + Burnt Sienna. Then pull that color down into the pond. Fill the pond with vertical strokes, using thin White Mix + French Ultramarine and White Mix + Cerulean Blue. Blend horizontally.
Add White Mix water lines with the brush chisel.
Step 10: Grass Finish the grass using the same brush and colors used in step 8. Remember to get darker and richer as you move into the foreground. Blend the brush strokes into one another.
Step 11: Foreground Trees Base the tree trunk with a no. 8 bristle flat and Dark Mix + Burnt Umber. Shade the left side and the base of the tree with Shadow Mix. Highlight the right side with Cadmium Orange + White Mix. Paint the limbs with the same colors, using the chisel edge of a no. 6 sable bright.
For finest branches, use a no. 2 liner. Before adding foliage, let the paint tack up while you paint the daisies.
Step 12: Daisies Paint most of the daisies with a no. 8 fan blender and White Mix. Use heavy paint on the brush corner. Barely touch and tug down quickly for those farthest back. Touch with more pressure as you move forward.
Step 13 : Daisiesin the left corner by the tree base and under the fence post, use the fan to flick in some vague dark foliage with Shadow Mix + White Mix. For the larger daisies, switch to a no. 2 filbert and just stroke in the petals. For those under the tree, add a touch of French Ultramarine to the White Mix. Touch in a few daisy centers with Cadmium Yellow on the tip of the no. 2 filbert.
Step 14: Fence To paint the fence post, double load a no. 8 bristle flat with Dark Mix + a bit of Blending and Glazing Medium and the Cadmium Orange + White Mix already on your palette. With the Cadmium Orange + White Mix on the left side of the brush, pull down on the post. The double load allows you to highlight and base the fence at the same time. For the two posts on the left, paint the far left one first, which will give you better delineation between the two posts. Add darks and lights as needed for a textured effect. Highlight with the Cadmium Orange + White Mix.
Step 15: Fence Using the no. 8 fan blender and French Ultramarine + Sap Green + Shadow Mix, darken the grass at the base of the fence posts. Paint the wire with a no. 5/0 liner and Ivory Black and highlight it with French Ultramarine + White Mix.
With the same color, chop in some reflected light on the backs of the posts. Apply the fence’s final highlights with Naples Yellow, chopping it on roughly for a textured look. Add daisies over the posts and wire.
Step 16: Foreground Tree Apply the shadow foliage on the foreground tree with the bottom corner of a no. 8 sable bright and Shadow Mix + White. Add mid-values with French Ultramarine + Sap Green + a bit of Cadmium Yellow. Don’t cover all the shadow leaves.
Step 17: Foreground Tree Begin highlights with a no. 4 filbert and the mid-value foliage color + more Cadmium Yellow. Pick up Cadmium Yellow Pale in the dirty brush for brighter highlights. Add a touch of White Mix to the mix for a few brightest highlights. Use a no. 5/0 liner and thinned French Ultramarine + Sap Green to add a few hit-and-miss tall grasses and stems. As you come to the foreground, add a bit of Shadow Mix. Let dry.
THE DAISY FIELD
Finishing Touches: Glaze as explained on page GLAZING. Use Cadmium Orange + Burnt Sienna along top of the first hill. Use French Ultramarine + Ivory Black behind the first hill and for shadows in foreground. You can add more glazes to build shadows as you feel necessary.