plate no. 9729

Old Houses

Hélène Guinepied, 1920

oilArt Nouveau (Modern)cityscapebuildingstreescityscapehousesarchitecturesky

some experience helpful

Recreating this painting will help students practice line drawing, basic color washes, and creating texture with repetitive marks. It's a good exercise in simplifying complex forms and developing a personal style.

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 of the buildings, trees, and horizon line.
step 02
Apply a thin wash of diluted brown or ochre to the entire paper as a base tone.
step 03
Add a light blue wash to the sky area, leaving some areas unpainted for variation.
step 04
Use a fine-tipped brush or pen to outline the buildings and trees with dark brown or black ink.
step 05
Fill in the roofs with a darker brown wash, allowing some of the base tone to show through.
step 06
Add details to the buildings, such as windows and architectural features, with the fine-tipped brush.
step 07
Create the stone wall texture by drawing small, elongated shapes with varying shades of brown.
step 08
Add final details and shadows to enhance the depth and dimension of the painting.

color palette

primary · raw umber · sky blue · ivory black

secondary · burnt sienna · yellow ochre

Mix raw umber with water for the base wash. Use varying amounts of water to achieve different shades of brown. Mix black with blue for the trees.

techniques

·dry brush
·hatching
·layering washes
·contour drawing
·scumbling

common pitfalls

→Overworking the details and losing the spontaneity of the original.
→Making the colors too saturated and losing the muted, vintage feel.
→Creating a symmetrical or overly balanced composition.
→Not varying the size and shape of the stones in the wall, resulting in a flat texture.