plate no. 1890

Lake

Petros Malayan, 1972

oilExpressionismlandscapelaketreesbuildingsbirdswinterlandscape

suitable for beginners

Recreating this painting will help students practice tonal values and simplified forms. It's a good exercise in creating depth with a limited palette.

technical profile

palette complexity

brushwork visibility

value contrast

compositional simplicity

study guide

est. 6 hrs

approach — 8 steps

step 01
Lightly sketch the basic shapes: the lake, buildings, and tree.
step 02
Establish the darkest areas with a diluted dark brown or black wash.
step 03
Add mid-tones to the buildings and surrounding landscape, leaving the lake area lighter.
step 04
Paint the tree branches, varying the thickness of the lines.
step 05
Add the birds on the branch.
step 06
Refine the edges of the lake and buildings to create definition.
step 07
Add subtle variations of tone to the lake to suggest depth.
step 08
Add final details and adjust values as needed.

color palette

primary · raw umber · titanium white

secondary · ivory black · yellow ochre

Mix raw umber with white for the lighter tones. Add a touch of black to raw umber for the darkest areas. Use yellow ochre sparingly to warm up some of the browns.

techniques

·value studies
·dry brushing
·layering
·tonal painting

common pitfalls

→Overworking the details
→Making the lake too bright or too dark
→Not varying the thickness of the tree branches
→Ignoring the subtle value changes in the buildings

materials

surface · watercolor paper 140lb

required

·watercolor paper 140lb
·raw umber watercolor or acrylic paint
·titanium white watercolor or acrylic paint
·round brush size 4
·flat brush size 8
·water container
·palette
·paper towels

optional

·palette knife
·ruler
·masking fluid

Using a heavier weight paper will prevent buckling when applying washes. Acrylics can be diluted with water to achieve a similar effect as watercolors.

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