Low Maintenance - Foreground: Brush and Grasses

Since this painting is set in early fall, the grasses are no longer green, but have turned yellow with some weeds and brush already dry and brown.

Prepare the following colors before you wet the paper:

Yellow Ochre
Burnt Sienna
Burnt Umber
Sepia

Apply clean water to the area around and in front of the barn. While still wet using either a flat brush or a round brush paint in yellow ochre leaving some areas lighter than others. Drop in a mixture of burnt umber, burnt sienna, and sepia in the foreground and in other areas to indicate shadows and tall brush or dried grasses.

Use a light wash of burnt umber at the base of the barn and under the wagon wheels for shadows.

In the foreground, use the edge of a small piece of a credit card in the areas where you have dropped n the darker colors of burnt umber and sepia and pull up and out, drawing the paint into the crevices you created with the credit card. This must be done while the area is still wet. Refer to the photo above for placement.

Allow to dry and deepen any areas you feel may need additional shadows.

Next blog, we'll finish up with our background trees and a few finishing touches.

Happy Painting!
Karen

Low Maintenance - Barn Siding

The next step to this painting is the sides of the barn - weathered wood! Seen up close, weathered boards on the barn are textured; however seen from a distance the wood is muted in color with few detail.

Work a section at a time so that the paint does not dry as colors are added. The colors need to blend together with areas of white paper showing through in some areas. I used the following colors:

-Burnt Umber
-Payne's Gray
-Sepia
-Ultramarine
-Yellow Ochre

1. Wet the section you plan to paint and drop in the above colors. Allow to dry.

2. Using a small flat brush with the hairs fanned out, dry brush in wood grain lines using a medium to dark wash of Burnt Umber ad Payne's Gray. This does not need to be detailed enough to show the wood grain in every board. Paint grain lines in only a few places, since detail is not seen from a distance.

3. Deepen the areas under the edge of the roof using the same colors in the siding - only darker.

4. Using Payne's Gray and a medium round brush, add the shadows created between the boards and in the cracks of the wood. Allow to dry.

5. After the side of the barn dries where the old wagon wheels are standing, paint the wagon wheels using a mix of Burnt Sienna and Ultramarine.

Next blog, we'll paint the foreground! Until then,

Happy Painting!
Karen

Low Maintenance - Rusty Roof

Painting the roof is the next step in this painting - and one of my favorite parts. I enjoy creating the appearance of a rusty roof and watercolor paints are one of the best ways to paint rust.

Prepare the following colors on your pallet:
-Burnt Umber
-Burnt Sienna
-Payne's Gray
-Ultramarine

Wet the entire upper front section of the roof with clean water using a flat brush. While still wet, using a round brush, drop in the above colors, using a predominate amount of Burnt Sienna. However, don't completely cover the roof in this paint, allow areas to be lighter and darker. Drop in touches of the other colors listed above and allow the paints to mingle and blend as they dry. Refer to my painting above for reference.

Complete this same process on the lower section of roof. Allow to dry. Highlights can be scratched in using a utility knife when the painting is complete.

In the next blog, we will paint the weathered wood......another one of my favorite parts of this painting

Until next blog.....Happy Painting!

Karen

Low Maintenance - Background

The background, both sky and tree areas, were painted at one time. However, the birch trees on each side of the barn were masked out prior to applying the wash. Masking is used to preserve the white area of paper or to maintain a color that would be difficult to paint around.

Masking out can be done in two ways:
1. Use of masking fluid, or
2. Use of artist masking tape

I used a combination of both for these trees. The small trees were masked using masking fluid and the larger trees were masked using a combination of various widths of masking tape.

Once the masking was put in place, the paper in the background area to be painted was wet with clean water using a large flat brush and painting around the shape of the barn. I prepared a wash of the following colors to apply for my sky and background bushes/foliage:

-Windsor Blue
-Yellow Ochre
-Burnt Umber
-Sap Green

Feel free to vary the colors of the background bushes/foliage to match the season of the year of the landscape. My painting was set in early fall, so I used the above listed colors. However, the season could be easily changed to summer or spring by simply using different colors.

Apply a wash of the Windsor Blue first. I used a large round brush to drop in my paint and pulled the color all the way down to the horizon. The blue will become lighter as it reaches the horizon. While still wet, drop in the other colors near the horizon and tree line and allow the colors to blend into one another. I used a tissue to blot out clouds in my sky. Work quickly while the paint is still wet. When you are satisfied with the color combination and clouds, allow the background to dry.

Next blog, we will paint the rusty tin roof of the barn.

Happy Painting!
Karen