There are two primary approaches to painting in oil. The first is the direct approach, the second is the indirect approach.
Painting Rivers From Source to Sea
Rivers can be enchanting or exciting, but are always absorbing. they provide a myriad of painting opportunities for the artist. Focusing on watercolour – one of the most direct mediums – this practical book explains how to paint a river and capture its life, light, movement, colour and interest. With over 200 images, Rob Dudley shares his methods, techniques and ideas to make this beautiful book a must-have for all landscape and en plein air artists.
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In this book Rob
- Explains each stage of a painting: inspiration and focus, sketching and information gathering, planning and painting
- Advises on how to paint water so that it captures the colour, shape and tone of light and reflections
- Looks at the various moods and characters of rivers – from the early streams and cascades through to strong, busy waterways and finally to the tidal estuary, where the river meets the sea
- Instructs on how to bring a painting to life by including the features of a river – the boats, wildlife, people and bridges
- Finished paintings, examples and step-by-step sequences are used throughout to support the detailed instruction
Copies are available locally (to us!) from The Ivybridge Bookshop. If you would like your copy signed please contact us.
Unsigned copies are available from major booksellers. Buy from Amazon.co.uk , Amazon.com , Waterstones
Painting Landscapes and the best approach!
What’s the main point an artist is attempting to achieve within painting landscapes? Well, let me try to answer that. There is no true right or wrong answer, but at least allow me to give you my perspective.
Like any painting (still life, portrait, landscape) you, as an artist, are bringing a freshness, a depth of vision in what you see, and placing them in terms that are more meaningful and more significant to the viewer than what would be readily, and commonly apparent.
Another way of saying it, you want to make something, (that in nature is already beautiful), better! To punch it up a notch, so when someone who has seen that bridge every day for um-teen many years, will stand back and take notice.
Maybe even have that little suck of breath intake when recognition takes place, and marvel at the “not so apparent” beauty YOU have brought to their attention!
The 3 approaches to painting landscapes.
There are 3 ways to tackle painting landscapes. Here’s the short list:
- The direct approach (Plein-air painters use this one)
- The indirect (or layered) approach
- A combination approach in which the majority of the work is completed in one sitting, then highlights, details, minor adjustments, are done back in the studio when the work has dried. This is by far what most professionals use.
Paintings can be done in a realistic manner, or a more abstract manner. They can be Surreal, (marked by the intense irrational reality of a dream, unbelievable, fantasy) or purely imaginative.
Within the genre, you have
- seascapes,
- cloudscapes,
- skyscapes,
- cityscapes (urban).
- interiors (inside a room)
So many variables!
So where do you start?
Well, at this point start thinking on whether you want to go direct or indirect.
If you go direct, you will be using the Alla Prima technique. A technique in which the painting is usually done at first attempt and in one sitting.
A lot of Plein-Air, (French term for “in the open air”) painters use this technique. But you can also use an indirect approach with the help of photography. You can paint on site, then shoot pictures, take a few notes, and head back to the studio to begin your layering processes.
Most pros use a combination of both!
They get a really good study with the color matching the most important part. Then taking several photo’s for reference, notes in the journal, then a trip back to the studio to finish a larger canvas.
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Direct Painting Technique
This is a fairly modern approach that was pioneered by Flemish painter Frans Hals. More recently, famous painters that have used this technique include many of the impressionist painters of the 19th and 20th centuries, such as Monet.
What does the direct painting method involve?
The direct painting approach involves laying down colours opaquely on the canvas with the same hues and tones as are perceived from the subject. The aim is to cover the canvas’ ground so that no whitespace remains. Then the aim is to match the colours from the reference scene from the offset. Build in details and light with layers and the addition of titanium white paint.
There are two different techniques that you can follow with this approach—the choice will depend on the artist and the session.
Direct painting technique 1: Alla Prima
Using the direct approach, you don’t have to wait for paint layers to dry before applying more paint. A technique you can use to get a painting finished in just one session is called alla prima (wet-on-wet). This way of working is incredibly fast and you could even get a painting finished in one session. It’s a spontaneous way to paint. You can swap the planning and scrutinising over detail for a fun, fresh and creative session.
Many artists that paint alla prima also use the impasto technique. Where paint is layered thickly to create texture.
The challenge of this method is determining the value relationships between subjects and mixing colours to match these. Also if you are painting alla prima, values can muddy together and you will have trouble creating sharp, defined lines. For this reason you should work with thin paint first. Then apply thicker paint in later stages with light colours applied last.
Alla prima sounds like it may be easy in comparison to the indirect approach. However, it takes practice and finesse to do it well.
Place a spot of paint, in the exact colour, correct shape and placement as it is perceived from the subject. This is the aim of the direct painting method.
Look at the work of John Singer Sargent for some alla prima inspiration.
Up-close the colours seem to swirl and muddle into one. With next to no hard edges defined, when you take a step back, the subject becomes clear and the colours seem to merge in harmony. Painting in this way, using thick paint, alla prima with impasto brush strokes is like creating an optical illusion.
A common way to start a painting alla prima, is, after having drawn out the structure of the piece in charcoal, to paint earth colours thinned with paint thinner, then fill it out with dabs of colour as you see fit.
Direct painting technique 2: blocking-in colour then working in detail
Another direct technique is blocking-in, whereby the basic colours of the scene are applied to the canvas, then the painter waits for this to dry before working in layers of detail.
This is probably the easiest way to create a painting.
The purpose of the blocking-in stage is to create a composition of colour and form, without worrying about details. If you look at a scene with squinted eyes, so that your vision is blurred, this is what you should aim to paint at the blocking-in stage. Loose forms, but colours that are more precise.
If you are a beginner oil painter, a good tip is to paint colours that you see in the subject as being less saturated that you feel like you want to.
A mistake beginners often make is over saturating the paintings so that colours don’t harmonise. Learn how to mix a neutral palette and apply these toned down colours at the blocking in stage. It’s easier to increase the saturation as you go along, rather than the other way around.
In detailed areas, usually the darker tones are applied first, with thin, fairly translucent paint. Light areas are built out as highlights with thick white opaque paint mixed in consecutive layers.
Think of the leaves of a tree, the shaded areas are painted first. Then the leaves that catch the light are applied after. The light colours mixed with opaque white should be at the very top of the piece. This gives the illusion of light.
What are the benefits of this approach?
This is an attractive approach for newcomers to oil painting to use, as it is immediate and it feels intuitive.
Paintings can be completed in a much shorter time frame. Using the alla prima technique, a painting could even be completed in a matter of hours. For this reason, this approach is well suited to painting plein air.
Colours are separate and distinct. Often paint is opaque rather than transparent, which lends itself to creating more vivid combinations and colour contrasts. Also, with the tendency to use thicker, opaque paint throughout the process, a greater surface texture can be achieved.
Direct and indirect painting techniques: Finally
It’s worth trying both approaches. To get a feel for different oil painting techniques and see which you think produces the kind of results you want to achieve with your art.
If you’ve previously only painted with the direct approach, attempting a painting with a more indirect approach can completely restructure how you perceive a subject, the light and combination of colours.
The experience of painting with an alternative approach can enhance and improve your current technique. There might be qualities in the light or structure of a subject that you previously didn’t tap into while sticking to the one.
It’s important to note also, that the two processes aren’t always mutually exclusive. There would have been times where famous indirect painters such as Rembrandt would have painted wet-on-wet. This is evident in some of his smaller studies on wooden panel.
Elements from the different methods can be combined and used in the same painting. As long as you’ve used the correct layering techniques to ensure your painting is structurally sound, there is no problem and it’s even encouraged to add glazes to a dry and completely opaque surface.
Which method do you use already? Do you want to try a some new techniques? Let me know in the comments.
The feature image is a photo of the process of my painting ‘Silken’ which is available to buy through my art store.
Direct and indirect painting techniques: Pin it!
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