Oil Painting Demonstration

Based on the article 'Small Oils on Location' first published in Leisure Painter Magazine

Materials used in this location demonstration Small pochade painting box Oil paints - French ultramarine , cadmium red, yellow ochre, cadmium yellow, titanium white. Brushes - Long flat hog hair 6,8,10 and a small round acrylic brush for laying in. Painting Board 7"x9" - harboard coated with three coats of acrylic gesso. Tube or bottle of Wingel Miscellaneous items - small dipper, small bottle of turps, tear-off paper palette, tape, plenty of kitchen paper and plastic bag in which to put the used tissue and paper palette on completion of the painting.

Painting on location When I am painting on the location I usually sit on a stool and hold the painting box on my lap, but if the weather conditions are adverse, and it is still possible to see the view, I sit in the back seat of my car. My painting set up when on site is shown in the photograph on the right. One asset of painting with a small box is that you can often remain unobtrusive whereas, if you put up an easel, people can sometimes be a problem.

Demonstration 'Sedgley Beacon in Mid Summer' Following is an oil painting I did of Sedgley Beacon, a well known beauty spot that is located close to my home. I like to paint on the beacon hill (it is 777 feet above sea level) through the seasons, in fact I have painted in the snow, but for this painting it was a nice day in summer. As usual, the painting box was set up in a few minutes. I had cut a small piece of tear off paper palette and fastened it with tape to the on the box so that, when the painting was finished, I could easily remove this and put it in the plastic bag, thus saving time and the task of cleaning up, which can be messy.

Stage 1 The board had been previously stained with a thin coat of burnt umber. I squeezed out French ultramarine and cadmium red onto the paper palette, placed a small amount of Wingel (as big as a ten pence piece) and added turps to the dipper. After considering the composition, I laid this in loosely with the small acrylic brush, concentrating on the tones, knowing that some of this would be lost as the painting progressed and that corrections could be made as I went along. I placed the beacon tower off centre to the left (leaving out an unsightly phone mast that has been put up in recent years). My view, looking up to the beacon, was due south and, as it was afternoon, the light was coming from the right. Yellow ochre, cadmium yellow and titanium white were now added to the palette. All subsequent painting was carried in a direct manner; I mixed the paint (with no Wingel or turps) brushed it onto the board and left it undisturbed without further scrubbing or messing. Hopefully, by using this method, the painting remains clean and fresh.

Stage 2 Starting at the top, I painted the sky area down to the landscape and around the tower with a No. 10 brush. The blue was French ultramarine with a touch of cadmium red, plus titanium white; the clouds were white tinted with yellow ochre. The tones were lightened as they descended towards the landscape. Some of the greens were laid in loosely with various mixes of yellow ochre, cadmium yellow and blue with a little white added to greens in light. The roof of the house, red plus yellow greyed with a little blue, completed this stage. Note that some of the initial layin had been lost but this would be restated as the painting progressed.

Final Stage Care had to be taken now not to overwork the painting. The tower was restated with a mix of yelllow ochre, red and blue trying to match the local yellow sandstone, quite dark on the shadow side and white added for the light side. All the trees and bushes were completed with various greens and the shadow sides painted with purple mixed with blue and red. As it was mid summer, some of the grasses were ripening to a bronze colour. I left the colour of the board for these and completed the other rough foreground areas with various subdued greens, mainly yellow ochre and blue with a slight touch of red. The bushes and landscape were painted with No. 6 and 8 brushes. The path was painted with a light tone of red and yellow with loads of white. The figures, important to the composition, were catching the light and were laid in simply with the small round brush. The dog was left virtually untouched from the initial layin. I stopped, resisting the temptation to keep fiddling. Someone once said to me: put a mount or frame around your painting before you think it is finished and you will find that you do not need to do any more to it. What sound advice that is!

Of course, the style of painting I have described can be carried at home if you are unable to paint on location.
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