plate no. 3678
Three Trees with a View of the Lake
some experience helpful
Students would develop skills in atmospheric perspective, soft brushwork techniques, and creating depth through layered landscape elements with subtle color temperature shifts.
technical profile
palette complexity
3
brushwork visibility
2
value contrast
3
compositional simplicity
4
study guide
est. 6 hrsapproach — 8 steps
- step 01
Block in the basic composition with simple shapes for trees, lake, and sky
- step 02
Establish the tonal values from light to dark across the entire canvas
- step 03
Paint the sky with soft horizontal brushstrokes, blending warm and cool grays
- step 04
Develop the distant hills with cooler, lighter tones to show atmospheric perspective
- step 05
Build up the tree forms with darker values, starting with the trunk structures
- step 06
Add the lake surface with horizontal strokes, reflecting the sky tones
- step 07
Paint the foliage using broken color technique with various greens
- step 08
Add the small figure detail and refine foreground textures last
color palette
primary · raw umber · titanium white · yellow ochre · prussian blue
secondary · sap green · burnt sienna · cadmium red light · payne's gray
Mix warm and cool grays by combining blues with earth tones, use yellow ochre to warm shadows, and create atmospheric grays by mixing complements
techniques
- ·soft brush blending
- ·atmospheric perspective
- ·broken color application
- ·wet-on-wet sky work
- ·scumbling for foliage texture
common pitfalls
- →making the distant elements too dark or detailed
- →overworking the soft sky passages
- →losing the overall tonal unity with too much contrast
- →making the water too reflective or sharp
materials
surface · stretched canvas 16x20 or canvas board with medium texture
required
- ·#8 flat brush
- ·#4 flat brush
- ·#2 round brush
- ·raw umber oil paint
- ·titanium white oil paint
- ·prussian blue oil paint
- ·yellow ochre oil paint
- ·sap green oil paint
optional
- ·palette knife for mixing
- ·painting medium
- ·soft blending brush
- ·liner brush for details
Use a limited palette to maintain color harmony, and have plenty of clean brushes for soft blending work
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