Brush Up - Paint the Background

Here are some of the images I printed off the Internet of the bell tower at Mission San Miguel Arcangel, San Miguel, California. The one in the center of the photo is the one I created the ½-inch grid on. See my post of 8:23 p.m. on 03/31/08.

I’m going to write a separate post about the palette I use. I’m self-taught, for the most part, from PBS instructional painting shows. Since I like acrylics, I’ve learned most from Jerry Yarnell, Jerry Yarnell’s School of Fine Art. My basic palette is the one he uses.

So, now, to actually start on the painting. As I said earlier, I’m using a 16x20 stretched canvas. I began by wetting the canvas and applying a coat of white gesso using a 2-inch Hake brush. Then starting at the top of the canvas, I applied Ultramarine Blue and Burnt Sienna that I had double loaded onto my brush. It just took a touch of each but I actually used too much Burnt Sienna. So, I had to work with the Ultramarine Blue and more gesso to get the lighter blue I was looking for. I had to rewet the canvas, too, using a spray bottle of distilled water set on the finest mist possible.

After I was satisfied with the blue, I cleaned my Hake brush and took a touch of Alizarin Crimson and started at the bottom of the still-wet canvas. As I blended upwards, I overlapped the blue already on the canvas. Since I neglected to take a photo of the canvas before I began drawing the grid, just imagine this photo without the grid.

Keep in mind that I am still learning this craft. So, while I share my techniques and methods, I am most open to suggestions of more experienced painters or, for that matter, less experienced painters. This blog is meant to share from the perspective of trial and error, not necessarily instruct from the perspective of experience. It’s a group experience, if you will.

After the canvas dried, I began creating the 1-inch grid on the canvas. I used a hard lead drawing pencil to create the grid using a very light touch. I have a couple of T-squares one of which is exactly one inch wide. I used that one to move across the canvas and mark the gridlines. Since the ruler on the T-square was exactly 1 inch wide, I overlapped the previous line to adjust for the space the pencil line added. In other words, if I had laid the ruler where I could see the previous line and then marked the next line, the two lines would be further than 1 inch apart. I had to take into account the width of the pencil line and the amount of space between the pencil line and the edge of the ruler. Even though it’s minute, it adds up as you move across the canvas.

In this photo you see the finished grid and the image off the computer that has the ½-inch grid. Hopefully these will help me to get the proper proportion as I work to get the image onto the canvas.

’Til we meet again, adieu.