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Glazing
Glazing was the signature method used by artists like Leonardo da Vinci, Rembrandt, and Vermeer. They glazed because the pigments in their palette would turn black if they mixed them together directly. If they wanted a purple, they had to lay down a layer of transparent red, let it dry, then put down a layer of transparent blue to visually blend the colors, rather than physically mixing them on the palette. The light passing through the transparent layers gives the painting a special glow, which can shift and shimmer, depending upon the light. In this way, a very real depth of the painting can be achieved.
Working in acrylics, glazing techniques can be easily mastered. Using a dedicated acrylic medium, tinted with transparent acrylic colors, glazing produces rich surfaces with great color depth and jewel-like finishes. Transparent pigments will always deliver the best results, producing clean, clear glazes and you’ll find that by building layers of color, glazing brings a deep, burnished glow to your images.
- Pick an area you can comfortably cover in 15-20 minutes – practice first to get a feel for the style and media
- Liquitex Soft Body Acrylic is the ideal viscosity for glazing so choose transparent colors by checking on the label or color chart
- For the ideal flow and brushability, make up your glaze by mixing 1 part transparent Soft Body color, to 10 parts Liquitex Glazing Medium. Our pigments have very powerful tinting strength, so you only need a small amount
- Mix the glaze with a palette knife rather than brush – if it’s too thick, add some Airbrush Medium and stir well
- Brush your glaze color on with a soft bristle brush, brushing in a single, uniform direction to create a smoother glaze. Let this layer dry for approximately 30-40 minutes
- Add a second glaze, repeating the process with a different color
- If you find your glaze dries too quickly for you to manipulate, add a small amount of Liquitex Slow-Dri Fluid Additive to the mixture or lightly mist the working surface with Liquitex Palette Wetting Spray
- The more glaze layers, the more visual depth your image will have
TIPS
- Layer paints and gel mediums to create thick relief glazes. To achieve the highest degree of translucency, allow each layer to fully dry before applying the next. Over time the colors will become brighter and deeper as the gel clarifies
- Soft Body Acrylic and Glazing Medium – the optimum combination
- Gloss Medium and Slow-Dri Fluid Medium – can also be used in place of Glazing Medium
- Airbrush Medium – to thin color mix
- Gloss Gel – for relief glazes
- Slow-Dri Fluid Additive or Palette Wetting Spray – to extend open time
Class Description
Early morning scenes have a special atmosphere to them. The normal hustle and bustle has not started and the quietness is only broken by the sound of birds as they greet the dawn. In this scene we can almost hear the honking of the geese and duck as they come flying into their favourite haunt.
In this lesson you will learn:
1 How to crop for a suitable composition
2 How to add life to the painting
3 How to position the birds for compositional balance
4 How to depict the mist in the distance
5 The colouring and tonal ranges for this morning scene
Latest Reviews
Great class Dennis, great brush techniques. Thank you so much for the class, it was very informative. I always enjoy your classes.
Danielle
Great class! Thank you Dennis for a thorough explanation of painting and color mixing. I watch this class to incorporate the morning fog into my next painting. Thanks again, Doina
Doina Craciun
Unlock the Follow Along Class HERE
Short Class Video
Painting the distant trees
This is early in the morning and misty, so the sky will only be a very light blue color.
Start the distant trees with a medium Blue/Purple mix and then with a touch of white, we can lightly blend this in and soften up the top edge and tap in the profile of the line of trees. Tap in some darker color for the tree shadows at the lake edge.
Painting the lake
The color of the lake is a slightly darker shade than the sky. There is some light mist on the water surface so paint this effect where the tree line meet the waters edge.
The foreground water is in shade and finish off the mist with some of the cast shadows and lightly smooth over the surface of the water.
Add the deeper shade, which is cast by the trees, to the water, and a little bit darker lower down.
Painting the trees
Add some Burnt Sienna to the dark Blue/Purple mix and begin blocking in the trees. They are in deep shade because the light is coming from the left. Use the edge of the brush to tap in the branches against the sky. Leave skyholes in them.
The closer tree is even darker than the previous one. Leave a lighter patch for portion of the embankment, and add some sunlight falling on it. Show some hints of taller grass.
Painting the waters edge
With a small round brush begin to paint in the edge of the embankment, also showing some small stones, and highlights on the grasses. The color used is Yellow Ochre and White.
Painting the tree highlights and foreground
Tree highlight –
We are able to see at least some detail in the shadow, so add them in with a small flat brush and Yellow Ochre. A few much darker patches brings more character to the tree.
Foreground-
Block in the foreground with the large flat brush and darken up at the water’s edge. Continue on the right and roughly paint the branches in silhouette.
Tree highlights –
We need to add more highlights to this tree. Paint them in to show the different boughs and becoming brighter in the foreground.
Foreground –
Pull some of this color as horizontal ripples into the water, using the cutting edge of the brush to do this. We can now add more detail to these shrub branches and also add the highlights with the flat of the brush. Touch up the branches with more detail and then tap in the warmer colors with the end of the large brush. Add some green to round this area off.
Adding detail to the foreground
Also add a few touches of green to the tree. I’m using the side of a 12mm (1/2”) hardware bristle brush to tap in all the grass in this area. The highlights of this grassy area are painted in using a bristle fan brush. Add some of the warmer colour (Burnt Sienna) to the grassy slope.
For interest in this area we can paint in a few bushes and other plants. Add more detail at the very bottom and do some general touching up on the left of the painting.
Painting in the ducks
Paint a few more ripples to the water and block, in silhouette, the duck on the water plus its reflection. Add in the other duck as well as a few in the distance.
Lastly, paint the duck flying in to greet the other ducks. I’ve decided to add another one. Finish off by painting the white ripples at the ducks on the water.
