plate no. 5466
The Girls' College, Péronne
William Orpen, 1917
some experience helpful
Recreating this painting will help students develop skills in color mixing to achieve muted tones and practice layering brushstrokes to create texture and form.
technical profile
palette complexity
3
brushwork visibility
4
value contrast
3
compositional simplicity
3
study guide
est. 10 hrsapproach — 7 steps
- step 01
Sketch the basic shapes and composition, focusing on the arches and building outlines.
- step 02
Block in the large areas of color, starting with the sky and the general tones of the buildings.
- step 03
Begin layering in the brick details and variations in the walls, using a dry brush technique.
- step 04
Add shadows and highlights to create depth and dimension in the ruins.
- step 05
Refine the details of the buildings in the distance, paying attention to their simplified forms.
- step 06
Work on the foreground debris, using broken colors and varied brushstrokes.
- step 07
Add final touches and adjust values as needed to create a cohesive composition.
color palette
primary · burnt sienna · ultramarine blue · yellow ochre · titanium white
secondary · raw umber · cadmium orange · sap green
Mix burnt sienna and ultramarine blue to create various shades of gray and brown. Use yellow ochre and white for the lighter tones of the buildings. Add small amounts of cadmium orange to warm up the brick colors.
techniques
- ·dry brush
- ·broken color
- ·scumbling
- ·layering
- ·color mixing
common pitfalls
- →Overworking the details and losing the overall impressionistic feel.
- →Using colors that are too saturated and not capturing the muted tones.
- →Ignoring the importance of value contrast in creating depth.
- →Not simplifying the forms of the buildings in the distance.
materials
surface · stretched canvas
required
- ·stretched canvas 16x20
- ·acrylic or oil paints
- ·round brush #4
- ·flat brush #8
- ·palette knife
- ·palette
- ·linseed oil (if using oil paints)
- ·odorless mineral spirits
optional
- ·painting medium
- ·easel
- ·rags
Use a medium-textured canvas to enhance the brushstroke visibility. Consider using a limited palette to simplify color mixing.
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