plate no. 8696
Heat Haze
Dorrit Black, 1919
some experience helpful
Recreating this painting will help students understand atmospheric perspective and how to create depth using color and value changes. It also provides practice in simplifying complex forms into basic shapes.
technical profile
palette complexity
3
brushwork visibility
4
value contrast
3
compositional simplicity
4
study guide
est. 8 hrsapproach — 8 steps
- step 01
Sketch the basic shapes: mountain, hills, buildings, and foreground.
- step 02
Establish the sky color with a thin wash of muted pink and yellow.
- step 03
Block in the mountain and hills with a base layer of muted purples and blues, varying the values to suggest form.
- step 04
Add the distant buildings with simplified shapes and muted colors.
- step 05
Paint the foreground field with a mix of yellows, browns, and greens, using broken brushstrokes to create texture.
- step 06
Add the fence using thin lines and varying the spacing to create perspective.
- step 07
Refine the details of the trees and bushes in the foreground, focusing on capturing their overall shape rather than individual leaves.
- step 08
Add final highlights and shadows to enhance the sense of depth and atmosphere.
color palette
primary · titanium white · ultramarine blue · yellow ochre · burnt umber
secondary · cadmium red light · viridian green
Achieve the muted colors by mixing complementary colors (e.g., blue and orange) with white. Use more blue and white for distant objects to create atmospheric perspective.
techniques
- ·dry brushing
- ·scumbling
- ·atmospheric perspective
- ·color mixing
- ·broken color
common pitfalls
- →Overworking the details and losing the overall impressionistic effect.
- →Using colors that are too saturated and not muted enough.
- →Failing to create a sense of depth through atmospheric perspective.
- →Making the brushstrokes too uniform and lacking variation.
materials
surface · stretched canvas
required
- ·stretched canvas 12x24
- ·titanium white oil paint
- ·ultramarine blue oil paint
- ·yellow ochre oil paint
- ·burnt umber oil paint
- ·#4 round brush
- ·#6 flat brush
- ·palette knife
optional
- ·linseed oil
- ·turpentine
- ·medium gloss
Use a canvas with a medium texture to allow for broken brushstrokes. Consider toning the canvas with a thin wash of burnt umber before starting.
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