plate no. 8190

Races at Longchamp

oil, canvasImpressionismgenre paintinghorse racingfigureslandscapeskycrowdfence

some experience helpful

Recreating this painting will help students develop skills in capturing movement and atmosphere using loose brushstrokes and a limited color palette. It also provides practice in simplifying complex scenes and suggesting details rather than rendering them precisely.

technical profile

palette complexity

brushwork visibility

value contrast

compositional simplicity

study guide

est. 8 hrs

approach — 8 steps

step 01
Sketch the basic composition, focusing on the horizon line and the placement of the horses and crowd.
step 02
Block in the sky with broad strokes of light gray and blue, suggesting cloud formations.
step 03
Establish the green field with varying shades of green, creating depth through subtle color changes.
step 04
Roughly define the shapes of the trees and foliage in the background using darker greens and browns.
step 05
Paint the horses and riders with quick, gestural strokes, focusing on capturing their movement and form.
step 06
Indicate the crowd with small, indistinct marks, suggesting the presence of many figures without painting each one individually.
step 07
Add the fence and other details, such as the starting gate, using simple lines and shapes.
step 08
Refine the overall composition by adjusting values and colors, and adding highlights and shadows where needed.

color palette

primary · viridian green · raw umber · titanium white · ivory black

secondary · yellow ochre · ultramarine blue · burnt sienna

Achieve the various greens by mixing viridian green with yellow ochre and white. Use raw umber and burnt sienna to create the browns for the horses and figures. Mix ultramarine blue and white for the sky.

techniques

·alla prima
·broken color
·scumbling
·dry brushing
·atmospheric perspective

common pitfalls

→Overworking the details and losing the spontaneity of the original painting.
→Making the colors too saturated and not capturing the muted tones of the scene.
→Failing to suggest depth and atmosphere through subtle value and color changes.
→Getting bogged down in rendering individual figures in the crowd.