plate no. 5770
Currarie Glen, near Ballantrae, South Ayrshire
Joseph Farquharson, 1872
recreation guide
Joseph Farquharson’s *Currarie Glen, near Ballantrae, South Ayrshire* (1872) is a landscape painting executed in oil, consistent with his early career focus on Scottish rural scenery. Farquharson, known as 'The Painting Laird,' was trained at the Trustees' Academy in Edinburgh under Peter Graham, whose influence on Farquharson’s landscape style is described as unmistakable (Source 5). While Farquharson later became famous for snowy winter scenes featuring sheep, this 1872 work falls within his earlier period of depicting natural scenery such as valleys and rivers, often with a realistic approach (Source 3, Source 5). The painting likely adheres to the traditional oil painting practices of the era, which involved sketching the subject onto the canvas and building up layers of paint mixed with linseed oil or solvents (Source 1).
estimated time
20-30 hours over 5-7 sessions
materials
7 items
steps
6 in sequence
materials
| item | purpose | modern equivalent |
|---|---|---|
| Oil paints (artist grade) | Primary medium for the painting | — |
| Linseed oil | Medium to thin paint and increase oil content in upper layers | Stand oil or refined linseed oil |
| Mineral spirits or turpentine | Solvent to thin paint for initial layers and clean brushes | Odorless mineral spirits |
| Canvas | Support surface | Linen or cotton canvas |
| Charcoal or thinned paint | For initial sketching of the composition | Vine charcoal or raw umber thinned with solvent |
| Paintbrushes and palette knives | Application and manipulation of paint | — |
| Rags | Cleaning brushes and removing wet paint if necessary | Lint-free cloths |
preparation
surface prep
The canvas should be primed with a traditional ground suitable for oil painting. While specific preparation for this exact canvas is not detailed in the sources, traditional oil painting techniques of the period involved preparing the surface to accept oil paint, which dries by oxidation (Source 1).
underdrawing
Traditional oil painting techniques often begin with the artist sketching the subject onto the canvas with charcoal or thinned paint (Source 1). Farquharson, trained in the academic tradition, likely employed a contour drawing approach to establish the mass and volume of the landscape elements before applying paint (Source 7).
underpainting
It is likely that Farquharson used a monochrome underpainting (grisaille) or a lean initial layer to establish values. Traditional methods often involve a 'lean' first layer (low oil content) to adhere to the 'fat over lean' rule, ensuring proper drying and preventing cracking (Source 1). Some historical practices involved painting the first layers with oil of copavia and limited colors like black, ultramarine, and white to establish tone before adding color glazes (Source 2).
color palette
Earth tones (greens, browns, greys)
Natural pigments mixed with linseed oil
Depicting the natural scenery of the glen, consistent with landscape painting traditions (Source 3)
Sky tones (blues, whites)
Ultramarine, white, and potentially glazes
The sky, which is almost always included in landscape views (Source 3)
Highlight tones
Thinner, lighter mixtures
Creating gradation of light and depth through simultaneous contrast (Source 4)
composition
The composition likely arranges natural scenery elements such as valleys, trees, and possibly water into a coherent view, with the sky included as a significant element (Source 3). Farquharson’s landscapes often depicted actual places with varying degrees of accuracy, functioning as topographical views or fine art landscapes (Source 3). The arrangement likely utilizes principles of simultaneous contrast to create depth, where juxtapositions of colors and tones produce a gradation of light (Source 4).
step by step
underdrawing→underpainting→first pass→refining→finishing
underdrawing
step 01
Sketch the composition of the glen, including trees, valley, and sky, using charcoal or thinned paint on the primed canvas.
Tip — Focus on the mass and volume of the landscape elements rather than minor details (Source 7).
Contour drawing
underpainting
step 02
Apply a lean initial layer of paint (mixed with more solvent than oil) to establish the basic values and forms. This layer should be 'lean' to adhere to the 'fat over lean' rule.
Tip — Ensure this layer dries completely before proceeding to prevent cracking (Source 1).
Fat over lean
first pass
step 03
Begin applying color, potentially using a monochrome or limited palette to establish tones, similar to historical methods using black, ultramarine, and white (Source 2).
Tip — Mentally extract red and yellow colors if using a grisaille, translating what would be left in nature (Source 2).
Grisaille or limited palette underpainting
refining
step 04
Apply subsequent layers of paint with increasing oil content ('fat over lean'). Use glazing (transparent coats) and scumbling (semi-opaque painting) to build up color and depth.
Tip — Glazing can add translucency and depth, while scumbling over darker grounds can create coldness or grey blooms (Source 2).
Glazing and scumbling
step 05
Adjust colors based on simultaneous contrast. Be aware that juxtaposed colors will affect each other's appearance, with lighter tones lowered and darker tones heightened.
Tip — Correct for hue shifts when lightening or darkening colors by using complements rather than just white or black (Source 6).
Simultaneous contrast
finishing
step 06
Finalize details and ensure all layers are dry. Oil paint dries by oxidation and is usually dry to the touch within two weeks.
Tip — Allow sufficient drying time between layers to prevent cracking (Source 1).
Oxidation drying
critical techniques
Fat over lean
Each additional layer of paint should contain more oil than the layer below to allow proper drying and prevent cracking (Source 1).
Glazing and scumbling
Glazing involves applying transparent coats of color, while scumbling is semi-opaque painting that allows the underlying layer to show through. These techniques were practiced by old masters and can be used to adjust translucency and sheen (Source 2).
Simultaneous contrast
Juxtaposing colors affects their perceived tone and hue. Artists must account for this to achieve accurate color representation and depth (Source 4).
common pitfalls
- →Applying lean layers over fat layers, which can cause the painting to crack and peel (Source 1).
- →Darkening colors by adding black, which can cause hue shifts toward greenish or bluish tones. Using complementary colors to neutralize is often better (Source 6).
- →Lightening colors by adding white, which can cause hue shifts toward blue. Adding a small amount of an adjacent color can correct this (Source 6).
- →Ignoring simultaneous contrast, leading to inaccurate color perception and lack of depth (Source 4).
what the sources don't tell us
Where the corpus is silent, we say so rather than guess. These are the gaps a complete recreation guide would normally cover that our source passages don't.
- ·Specific color palette used by Farquharson for this 1872 painting is not detailed in the sources.
- ·Exact compositional layout of *Currarie Glen* is not described in the sources, so general landscape composition principles are applied.
- ·Specific preparatory methods (e.g., exact ground type) for this specific canvas are not documented in the provided sources.
grounded in
The technical procedure in this guide traces to the following classical art-instruction texts.
The Practice of Oil Painting↗
- COLOURING A MONOCHROME — applied to Glazing, scumbling, and grisaille underpainting techniques
Laws of Contrast of Colour↗
- 6. Put beside each other two flat tints... — applied to Simultaneous contrast and color harmony
cross-referenced from
Named facts about this artwork and artist were checked against these reference pages.
Wikipedia: Oil painting↗
- part 2 — applied to General oil painting techniques, fat over lean rule, drying time
Wikipedia: Landscape painting↗
- part 1 — applied to Landscape composition elements (sky, natural scenery)
Wikipedia bio — Joseph Farquharson↗
- part 1 — applied to Artist's background, training, and general style
Wikipedia: Color theory↗
- part 6 — applied to Color mixing pitfalls and corrections
Wikipedia: Contour drawing↗
- part 1 — applied to Underdrawing technique
Read more about the corpus on the sources page and how the guides are built on the methods page.
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