“Fall Around Every Corner” – Great Smoky Mountains National Park

                

“Fall Around Every Corner” – Great Smoky Mountains National Park

“Fall Around Every Corner” is an acrylic painting done from a photo I took along one of the roads in the Great Smoky Mountains.  I took this photo from Maloney Point, which is stop #1 on Little River Road. It is an overlook with a paved parking area and a mountain view.   I have been fortunate enough to paint plen air at this overlook on another occasion; however, this painting was done from my photo rather than on location this time. 

The painting above is an acrylic on canvas.   Let’s get started painting!

Materials needed:

Canvas – I used an 8” x 10” canvas 

Brushes

-        Flat Brush
-        Palette Knife
-        Round brush

 

Acrylic paints:  A basic set of acrylic paints which may include the following colors:
Hookers Green
Sap Green
Brunt Umber
Mars Black
Titanium White
Cadmium Yellow
Yellow Ochre
Ultramarine Blue
Cerulean Blue
Cobalt Blue
Burnt Sienna
Raw Sienna
Alizarin Crimson

Note:  The paint list is large; however, this painting can be achieved with a basic set of acrylic paints. 

This painting is predominately green; all shades of green from the background trees to the foreground grasses.   Before we start painting, I wanted to share some tips on painting with green. 

Green Paint Tips:

Vivid greens can be easy to mix, but often need to be toned down or they dominate the painting.  Greens can be adjusted as follows:

·        Add a little red (or pink) to the green mix.

·        Try to mix greens from a mixture of two colors rather than using a premixed green. 

·        When making your green, try not to use a bright yellow and a bright blue. 

 

Here are some paints to mix together to make some excellent greens:

·        Burnt umber & Cadmium yellow light

·        Prussian blue & Yellow ochre

·        Ivory black & Cadmium yellow light

·        Ultramarine blue & Yellow ochre

·        Ultramarine blue & Cadmium yellow light

·        Phthalo blue (Green) & Cadmium yellow light

·        Phthalo blue (Green) & Hansa yellow (sometimes called Lemon yellow)

Play around with these color combinations and different greens before you start your painting to find the colors that you would like to use.

There are some good premixed greens out there can be purchase and used “straight” from the tube.  I especially like Sap Green.  It can be lightened with yellow ochre and deepened with Ultramarine blue. 

Canvas preparation: 

A technique I have found to add warmth to paintings is to lay down a base coat of burnt umber.  I painted the canvas with this base coat and allowed to dry before starting my painting. Sparsely painted areas will allow this base coat to show through; this is extremely useful in the tree area and will add a nice glow to your painting. 

Painting Instructions:

Sketch the drawing on the canvas with minimal details.    My main concern was the perspective of the road as it curved across the canvas.  Once you have the location of the road, everything else will fall into place. 

Background: 

Sky:

Using a mix of Cerulean Blue and white, lay in the sky from the top down to and slightly below the  mountains all the way across the canvas even behind the trees on the right.  Focus your attention on the areas of the sky that will be seen at the top of the painting.    Laying down your sky behind the trees will allow bits of the sky to show threw the leaves of the trees and also give you a base for your greens.   Make your sky interesting by adding a darker Windsor Blue and Purple in the upper section of the sky.  Allow to dry.   

Mountains:

Using the edge of your flat brush or a pallet knife, lay in your mountains with Sap Green and Windsor Blue mixed to create a deep evergreen.  Use various intensities of this color to indicate shadow and light on the mountains. While still wet, work in some colored areas to indicate sections where the leaves have changed. 

Trees:

Paint the trees on the left side of the painting first as the trees on the right side will overlap these in the foreground of the painting. 

Mix a variety of shades of green before you start painting as you will use various shades as you paint the trees putting in light and shadow as well as species’ color differences.    Paint the trees by scrubbing in the paint in circle shapes as well as dabbing in various locations.  Work these until you are pleased with the color and shape.  Deepen the green with Ultramarine blue as well as a touch of black to the deepest area of green in the background. 

Roadside grasses:

Blend in various shades of brown in the sections closest to the road.  Dap this paint on with a bristle brush, allowing your brush strokes to show.  Highlight areas to indicate light and deepen areas for shadows.  Allow to dry.

Road:

Mix gray from black, white and a little Windsor Blue.  Using various intensities of this color, paint the road.  Add more white to highlight areas of the road that are out of the shadows.  Deepen the color in the shadows of the trees and along the side of the road.  Allow to dry.  When dry, add a yellow center line of yellow ochre. 

Finishing Details:

Using the example above, add highlights and a tree branch or two.  Add a little “smoke” on the tops of the two highest mountains as well as dabbing in some while paint for clouds in the sky. 

Congratulations!  Sign your name; your painting is complete. 

Happy Painting!
Karen

 

 

"Summer at the Bud Ogle Cabin" – Roaring Fork Motor Loop, Great SmokyMountains

"Summer at the Bud Ogle Cabin" – Roaring Fork Motor Loop, Great Smoky Mountains

 I usually do watercolor paintings; however, the painting above is an acrylic.  I enjoy using different medium at times to expand my painting skills.  Plus, often paintings just seem to lend themselves to one medium over the other.

I would have loved to have been able to paint this one plein air, but my schedule does not always allow time for plein air painting.  My husband constantly tells me I plan more things for a 24 hours period than 24 hours allow…even if I did not sleep!  So, I reluctantly took a photo on my cell phone and saved this painting literally for a “rainy” day! 

The painting above is an acrylic on canvas.   Let’s get started painting!

 Materials needed:

Canvas – I used a 16 x 20 stretched canvas. 
Brushes

• Flat Brush
• Palette Knife
• Round brush

Acrylic paints:  A basic set of acrylic paints which may include the following colors:

• Hookers Green
• Sap Green
• Brunt Umber
• Mars Black
• Titanium White
• Cadmium Yellow
• Yellow Ochre
• Ultramarine Blue
• Cerulean Blue
• Cobalt Blue
• Burnt Sienna
• Raw Sienna
• Alizarin Crimson

Note:  The paint list is large; however, this painting can be achieved with a basic set of acrylic paints. 

 This painting is predominately green; all shades of green from the background trees to the foreground grasses.   Before we start painting, I wanted to share some tips on painting with green. 

Green Paint Tips:

Vivid greens can be easy to mix, but often need to be toned down or they dominate the painting.  Greens can be adjusted as follows:

·        Add a little red (or pink) to the green mix.

·        Try to mix greens from a mixture of two colors rather than using a premixed green. 

·        When making your green, try not to use a bright yellow and a bright blue. 

Here are some paints to mix together to make some excellent greens:

·        Burnt umber & Cadmium yellow light

·        Prussian blue & Yellow ochre

·        Ivory black & Cadmium yellow light

·        Ultramarine blue & Yellow ochre

·        Ultramarine blue & Cadmium yellow light

·        Phthalo blue (Green) & Cadmium yellow light

·        Phthalo blue (Green) & Hansa yellow (sometimes called Lemon yellow)

Play around with these color combinations and different greens before you start your painting to find the colors that you would like to use.

There are some good premixed greens out there can be purchase and used “straight” from the tube.  I especially like Sap Green.  It can be lightened with yellow ochre and deepened with Ultramarine blue. 

 

Brown Paint Tips:

Since the cabin in painted in shades of brown and gray, I wanted to provide some tips on mixing brown paint as well.  The following are color combinations to create a variety of shades of brown:

·        Mix red and yellow to make orange.  Add small amounts of blue to the orange to create brown.

·        Mix yellow and blue to make green.  Add small amounts of red to the green to create brown.

·        Mix red and blue to make purple.  Add small amount of yellow to the purple to create brown.

Trying these different combinations will create various shades of brown. 

Painting Instructions:

Sketch the drawing on the canvas with minimal details.    Finding the placement for the cabin on the canvas and getting the perspective correct for the alignment of the roof, porch, etc.  is the main focus in your sketch.    

Background: 

Sky:

Using a mix of Cerulean Blue and white, lay in the sky from the top all the way down to the horizon even though the majority of the sky will be hidden by the trees.    Focus your attention on the areas of the sky that will be seen at the top of the painting.    Laying down your sky behind the trees will allow bits of the sky to show threw the leaves of the trees and also give you a base for your greens.   Allow this to dry before starting to paint the trees.

Trees:

Mix a variety of shades of green before you start painting as you will use various shades as you paint the trees putting in light and shadow as well as species’ color differences.    Paint the trees by scrubbing in the paint in circle shapes as well as dabbing in various locations.  Work these until you are pleased with the color and shape.  Deepen the green with Ultramarine blue as well as a touch of black to the deepest area of green in the background.  Allow to dry.  Branches and tree trunks will be added later.

Cabin:

I painted the cabin in this order:  roof, sides/front, chimney, porch posts, window/door.  However, the order is not important; work in the order that best suits your painting style. 

The entire cabin and roof are painted with the same colors of paint, only the intensity varied.  I started with a light muddy shade of a gray/brown in which gray (white and black) was added to brown.  Using my painting as a guide, paint the cabin with various shades of brown/gray using a flat brush and painting the direction of the logs.   Allow this to dry and using  a flat brush, stroke across the logs to give the logs a wood grain.  Deepen the color between the logs for shadows as well as the area under the porch.  A very light tan, almost white, was used to highlight the logs as well as the roof in various places. 

Paint the door and window with a very dark brown with a little black added.  Allow to dry and paint the wood slats around the window in a light tan.  Use this same color on the porch posts. 

Shaky hand?  Straight lines on the window and porch a problem?  First, remember that the lines don’t need to be perfect; however, if you need a little help, try one of these tips:

·        Place a study piece of paper at a 45 degree angle along the edge of where you would like your line, use a small amount of paint and pull your brush across the area.  A ruler can also be used for the straight edge.  Remember to clean the ruler or use a different piece of paper for each new line. 

·        Often a shaky hand is due to the fact that the hand is not supported when painting since you can’t place your hand on the wet paint to stabilize it and you lack control.   If you can support your arm or hand on the outside of your painting, you will gain control and it will easier to paint a straight line.  Artist use what is called a “bridge” or any sort of straight piece of wood, metal or plastic that is raised up so that it does not rest on the painting, but is wide enough on which to rest your hand.  

Chimney:

The rocks in the fireplace are painted using some of the same color paints.  Vary the paint in the shape of the rock painting each one separately.

Foreground grasses:

This photo was taken during the summer when the grasses were tall and had not been cut recently.  They were a variety of shades from a deep green to a light yellow/gold.  I started at the horizon and worked forward.  Check the photo to see where and what color to paint the grass.  I laid down a base coat of paint, then came back in with the edge of a flat brush to pull up tall pieces of grass.  These grass shoots were pulled up on to the sides and front of the cabin in various locations. 

Finishing Details:

I placed a tree branch cross the right side of the cabin to “ground” the cabin to the landscape.  Look over the rest of your painting and add highlight or touches of color here and there as needed.

Congratulations!  Sign your name; your painting is complete. 

Happy Painting!

Karen

 

 

"Follow the Sun"

        

      

“Follow the Sun” 

“Follow the Sun” is an acrylic painting done from a photo taken at sunset by the shore of a mountain lake in East Tennessee in late fall.  The painting above is an acrylic on canvas – a very unique canvas. 

 This canvas is actually made of burlap which has been stretched on a wooden frame and primed with gesso.  I loved the look of the burlap and the uneven gesso painting surface.   A friend surprised me with a couple of these canvases for Christmas and I knew I had to find just the right subject for this canvas.  I needed a subject that would work well with the edges fading out, something from nature to compliment the burlap.   This sunset I thought would be the perfect fit.  The canvas worked out great and I love the result.

 Materials needed:

Canvas – I used an 8” x 10” burlap/gesso panel; however, any canvas will work.    
Brushes:  (size of your choice)

-        Flat Brush

-        Palette Knife

-        Round brush

Acrylic paints:  A basic set of acrylic paints which may include the following colors:

-        Hookers Green

-        Sap Green

-        Brunt Umber

-        Mars Black

-        Titanium White

-        Cadmium Yellow

-        Yellow Ochre

-        Ultramarine Blue

-        Cerulean Blue

-        Cobalt Blue

-        Burnt Sienna

-        Raw Sienna

-        Alizarin Crimson

Note:  The paint list is large; however, this painting can be achieved with a basic set of acrylic paints. 

     

          

     

Let’s get started painting!

Painting Instructions:

Sketch the drawing on the canvas with minimal details.    I sketched the following on the canvas:

·        Horizon

·        Basic mountain shape

·        Placement of the tree; i.e. location of the base of the tree on the left side of the canvas.  It is not necessary to draw the shape of the tree as this will be painted in after the sky and water have been put in place. 

Sky:

Starting at the top and working down to the horizon, paint in the sky using a mix of Ultramarine Blue and white, adding more white as you paint down to the horizon.  Touches of purple were added at the top right and where the pink and blue of the sky mingle.

 Paint the sun using white and work up to meet the remainder of the sky, adding light blue, yellow, orange, and pink.  Although the colors circle the sun, do not leave circular brush strokes around the sun, blend the colors horizontally into the sky. 

Mountains:

Using the edge of your flat brush or a pallet knife, lay in your mountains with Sap Green and Windsor Blue mixed to create a deep evergreen.  Add Burnt Sienna and paint toward the center of your painting, working from both sides to the center.  Be certain to add an area of white to indicate the reflected path of the sun down the mountains and then across the lake.  Mix areas of yellow across the horizon and into the mountains in various locations in the center working out to the darker areas on the sides and away from the reflected light. 

Lake:

Adding Windsor Blue to the colors above, paint down and across the lake adding a touch of red to deepen the orange and maintaining the white reflections of the sun across the canvas working in a “V” with the orange and adding blues mixed with green and black on the sides.  Paint a small white reflection of the sun at the lower edge of the lake, slightly off center to the left. 

 Tree:

The tree is painted a deep brown.  Brown paint can be mixed using the following color combinations:

·        orange and blue

·        red and green

·        purple and yellow

·        mix of all primary colors

I used a mix of the paint on my palette to prepare a brown that suited my needs.  I added black to deepen the brown.

Using my deepest shade of brown, I painted my tree from the bottom trunk and working up using slightly lighter shades of brown as it branched out across the lake.  For the smallest branches, I used a palette knife. 

 Add a few fall leaves paint from Burnt Sienna already on your palette.    Only paint a few in random locations on the tree. 

Foreground (grasses and cattails):

As the water was painted, blue was mixed into the orange on the left and right sides of the painting.  I brushed in a touch of the orange on the left side. Using the dark brown and black used on the tree to paint in the cattails across the left and right side of the painting.  I used a palette knife to pull up the tall stalks and added the cattail tops with a flat brush. 

 Details to note:

I did not paint all the way to the edge of the white gesso on the burlap panel.  I preferred to have a rustic faded out look to the edges of the painting. 

Congratulations!  Sign your name; your painting is complete. 

Happy Painting!
Karen