plate no. 0531
Vision After the Sermon
Paul Gauguin, 1888
experienced study
Students would develop skills in bold color application and symbolic composition, learning how to use non-naturalistic color for emotional impact and how to divide pictorial space dramatically.
technical profile
palette complexity
3
brushwork visibility
4
value contrast
4
compositional simplicity
2
study guide
est. 15 hrsapproach — 8 steps
- step 01
Sketch the basic composition dividing the canvas diagonally with the tree trunk
- step 02
Block in the large red ground area with bold, flat application
- step 03
Paint the tree trunk in dark brown, establishing the strong diagonal
- step 04
Add the group of Breton women in white bonnets on the left side
- step 05
Paint the wrestling figures in the upper right using simplified forms
- step 06
Develop the clothing details with blue and black accents
- step 07
Refine facial features and hands with careful brushwork
- step 08
Add final details to bonnets and foliage
color palette
primary · vermillion red · titanium white · raw umber
secondary · ultramarine blue · yellow ochre · ivory black
Use pure vermillion for the ground, mix whites with slight blue tints for bonnets, create flesh tones with ochre and white
techniques
- ·flat color application
- ·bold outlining
- ·simplified form modeling
- ·symbolic color use
- ·compositional division
common pitfalls
- →overworking the flat red areas
- →making figures too detailed
- →losing the bold color relationships
- →ignoring the strong diagonal composition
materials
surface · primed canvas or canvas board
required
- ·#8 flat brush
- ·#4 flat brush
- ·#2 round brush
- ·vermillion oil paint
- ·titanium white oil paint
- ·raw umber oil paint
- ·ultramarine blue oil paint
- ·canvas 18x24
optional
- ·palette knife
- ·painting medium
- ·#1 liner brush
This painting requires confidence with bold, flat color application and symbolic rather than naturalistic approach
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