plate no. 3193

Golden Autumn in Turku

Mikhail Olennikov, 1998

oil, canvasRealismlandscapetreeswaterlandscapeskyshoremountains

some experience helpful

Recreating this painting will help students develop skills in layering colors to create depth and texture, as well as understanding atmospheric perspective. It's also a good exercise in capturing the essence of a landscape with relatively loose brushwork.

technical profile

palette complexity

brushwork visibility

value contrast

compositional simplicity

study guide

est. 8 hrs

approach — 8 steps

step 01
Sketch the basic composition, paying attention to the horizon line and the placement of the major elements (trees, water, mountains).
step 02
Block in the large areas of color: sky, water, distant mountains, and the general areas of the trees and foreground.
step 03
Start layering colors in the sky, creating subtle variations in tone.
step 04
Develop the water with horizontal brushstrokes, adding darker values near the shore and lighter values towards the horizon.
step 05
Work on the distant mountains, using muted colors to create a sense of distance.
step 06
Begin to define the trees, using a variety of warm colors (reds, oranges, yellows, browns) to suggest the autumn foliage.
step 07
Add details to the foreground, using a mix of greens, yellows, and browns to create texture and interest.
step 08
Refine the details and adjust the values as needed to create a sense of depth and atmosphere.

color palette

primary · ultramarine blue · burnt sienna · yellow ochre · titanium white

secondary · cadmium red · viridian green · raw umber

Mix blues and browns with white for the sky and distant mountains. Use various combinations of yellows, reds, and browns for the trees. Mix greens, yellows, and browns for the foreground.

techniques

·layering
·dry brush
·color mixing
·atmospheric perspective
·broken color

common pitfalls

→Overworking the details and losing the loose, painterly quality.
→Using colors that are too saturated and not creating a sense of atmospheric perspective.
→Failing to establish a clear value structure.
→Making the tree trunks too uniform.