plate no. 9049

Cottages on Mount Sainte Marguerite

oil, panelPost-Impressionismlandscapelandscapehouseshillscowtreessky

some experience helpful

Recreating this painting will help students develop skills in color mixing to achieve muted tones and practice layering brushstrokes to create texture and depth.

technical profile

palette complexity

brushwork visibility

value contrast

compositional simplicity

study guide

est. 10 hrs

approach — 8 steps

step 01
Sketch the basic shapes of the hills, houses, and cow, paying attention to their relative sizes and positions.
step 02
Establish the horizon line and the overall composition.
step 03
Block in the large areas of color, starting with the sky and then moving to the hills and fields.
step 04
Begin layering colors to create depth and texture in the hills, using short, broken brushstrokes.
step 05
Paint the houses, focusing on the shapes of the roofs and walls, and adding details like windows and chimneys.
step 06
Add the trees, using thin, vertical lines to create their trunks and branches.
step 07
Paint the cow, paying attention to its anatomy and the way the light falls on its body.
step 08
Add final details and highlights to complete the painting.

color palette

primary · yellow ochre · burnt sienna · sap green

secondary · ultramarine blue · titanium white · cadmium red

Mix yellow ochre and burnt sienna for the warm tones of the hills. Use ultramarine blue and white to create the sky. Mix sap green with yellow ochre and a touch of burnt sienna for the greens of the fields.

techniques

·broken color
·layering
·scumbling
·dry brush
·color mixing

common pitfalls

→Overmixing colors, resulting in muddy tones.
→Creating overly smooth surfaces, losing the texture of the original painting.
→Neglecting the importance of layering colors to create depth.
→Not paying attention to the relative sizes and positions of the objects in the painting.

materials

surface · stretched canvas

required

·stretched canvas 12x16
·oil paints (yellow ochre, burnt sienna, sap green, ultramarine blue, titanium white, cadmium red)
·palette
·assorted brushes (round and flat)
·linseed oil
·turpentine or odorless mineral spirits
·palette knife
·rags