plate no. 3534

The House that Jack Built

Peter Doig, 1992

oilMagic Realismlandscapehousetreesskybrick walllandscapefoliage

some experience helpful

Recreating this painting will help students develop skills in layering colors, creating texture with brushstrokes, and understanding atmospheric perspective. It also provides practice in simplifying complex subjects into abstract shapes and patterns.

technical profile

palette complexity

brushwork visibility

value contrast

compositional simplicity

study guide

est. 12 hrs

approach — 8 steps

step 01
Divide the canvas into three horizontal sections representing the sky, the house/trees, and the brick wall.
step 02
Block in the basic colors of the sky using broad, horizontal brushstrokes, focusing on the reds, oranges, and blacks.
step 03
Establish the location of the house and trees with a light sketch, paying attention to their relative sizes and positions.
step 04
Paint the house and trees using a combination of thin washes and thicker impasto, focusing on the interplay of light and shadow.
step 05
Create the brick wall using a grid pattern of red lines and filling in the individual bricks with various shades of red, orange, black, and white.
step 06
Add details to the house, trees, and brick wall, such as windows, branches, and individual bricks.
step 07
Glaze over certain areas to unify the painting and create a sense of depth.
step 08
Add final highlights and shadows to enhance the overall effect.

color palette

primary · burnt sienna · black · titanium white · cadmium red

secondary · yellow ochre · ultramarine blue

Achieve the sky colors by mixing reds, oranges, and blacks with varying amounts of white to create different values. The brick wall colors are achieved by mixing reds, oranges, blacks, and whites, and the house colors are achieved by mixing blues, greens, and browns.

techniques