plate no. 7805
The Bedroom
Vincent van Gogh, 1888
study guide
est. 8 hrsapproach — 8 steps
- step 01
Sketch the room's basic perspective with the bed as focal point
- step 02
Block in the major color areas - blue walls, yellow bed, purple floor
- step 03
Paint the bed frame with confident yellow ochre strokes
- step 04
Add the blue wall color with vertical brushstrokes
- step 05
Paint the furniture pieces - chairs, table, washstand
- step 06
Add the window and door details with green and blue
- step 07
Paint the wall decorations and hanging pictures
- step 08
Refine details and add final expressive brushwork
color palette
primary · ultramarine blue · cadmium yellow · yellow ochre
secondary · viridian green · cadmium red · raw umber · titanium white
Mix warm yellows with touches of orange for bed, blend blues with white for walls, use purple mixtures for floorboards
techniques
- ·expressive brushwork
- ·color blocking
- ·perspective drawing
- ·complementary color relationships
common pitfalls
- →overworking the brushstrokes
- →getting perspective wrong on furniture
- →muddying the bold colors
- →making details too tight
materials
surface · primed canvas or canvas board
required
- ·#6 flat brush
- ·#4 flat brush
- ·#2 round brush
- ·ultramarine blue oil paint
- ·cadmium yellow oil paint
- ·yellow ochre oil paint
- ·viridian green oil paint
- ·canvas 16x20
optional
- ·palette knife
- ·painting medium
- ·#8 flat brush
- ·fan brush for texture
Van Gogh's thick paint application may require more paint than typical - have extra tubes of primary colors
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