Denise demonstrates how to paint sunlit trees using wet-in-wet techniques and a large brush, ensuring the scene stays lively and dynamic.
“The more I paint the more I enjoy experimenting and discovering the different marks that can be made with my brushes. I am also trying to get away from being too representational and find that starting a painting with a big brush prevents me from being too rigid or fussy. Even if I go on to use smaller brushes for adding detail later, the big brush enables me to cover my canvas rapidly, allowing me to get on to the fun bit very quickly!”
Starting with the 3” Paddle brush, I mixed Ultramarine Blue with Burnt Sienna and some White to give a warm grey. I added a little water to the mix – I don’t want it to run, but just to cover quickly. This was used to indicate the bushes at the base of the trees. I then added some more Ultramarine and White to suggest the beginnings of the shadows coming forwards.
The sky was started with a mix of Ultramarine, Phthalo Turquoise and White. I added a rough layer of this mix, concentrating on the top third of the sky area as the rest will be painted over next using a mix of the paint with barely any water. With the paint left in the brush and a little water, I painted down to the bushes, but very quickly as most of this area will be painted over in the next layer. I allowed this to dry to avoid making green when I add yellow later.
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I mixed a light gold from Yellow Ochre, Lemon Yellow and White and painted this on the bottom two thirds of the sky area, and
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