Using burnt sienna with a touch of cadmium yellow light, I underpainted or blocked in the tiles on the roof. I found a synthetic bristle brush that would hold a sharp chisel edge on the bristles to paint the tiles. From the perspective I chose for the painting, the tiles are on a diagonal running from upper left to lower right. So, when I painted a stroke, I moved the brush as if I were actually painting a tile that was already in place. I lay the chisel edge of the brush along the left side of the tile angled diagonally and made the stroke in an arc. That left the bottom of the roof with an inverted scalloped edge. Blocking in the tiles using this directional stroke method will make detailing the tiles easier later in the painting. It will help them look more realistic in the end.
After the undercoat dried, I mixed in more yellow and a touch of Gesso to lighten the mixture. I’ve determined that my light source will come from right to left. So, I went back over each “column” of tiles and followed the same stroke pattern. This time I just painted about ¾ of each tile on the right side. That made the tiles a little lighter where the sunlight would be hitting them.
After it dried, I saw that the lighter color was too yellow. So, I added more burnt sienna and another touch of Gesso to offset the yellow and dry brushed over the tiles again with the altered mixture. I’m not through with the tiles yet because I want to come back in and define the individual tiles.
One thing I’ve learned about painting with acrylics is that it can be very forgiving. However, to use this to your best advantage, you must remember one thing. Never leave a hard edge or lay on the paint thick enough at this stage to leave visible paint strokes. When blocking in areas on the canvas, be sure to feather the edge of the area you’re painting.
For instance, if you outline the side of a square shape by dragging your brush along the edge of the box with the chisel edge of the brush perpendicular to the edge of the box, you’re likely to leave a little ridge of paint along the sides of the box. Maybe that box shape was the front of a house or building. Later in the painting, you might decide to paint some shrubbery in front of that building or maybe you make a major change and eliminate the building all together replacing it with a differently shaped structure. Unless subsequent coats of paint are thick enough to hide it, that little ridge of paint along the edge of that square shape will show up if you look at the painting under certain lighting conditions or from certain angles. So, someone looking at your painting will see a straight line reflected from the light in the room and this straight line runs right through the tree standing at the front corner of this house.
It would be much better to hold your brush with the chisel edge of the bristles parallel to the straight edge of the box shape. Place the bristles almost on the line and drag the brush towards the center of the box figure, making sure not to deposit too much paint on the canvas at the beginning of the stroke.
This, ladies and gentlemen, I speak of from personal experience.
After the undercoat dried, I mixed in more yellow and a touch of Gesso to lighten the mixture. I’ve determined that my light source will come from right to left. So, I went back over each “column” of tiles and followed the same stroke pattern. This time I just painted about ¾ of each tile on the right side. That made the tiles a little lighter where the sunlight would be hitting them.
After it dried, I saw that the lighter color was too yellow. So, I added more burnt sienna and another touch of Gesso to offset the yellow and dry brushed over the tiles again with the altered mixture. I’m not through with the tiles yet because I want to come back in and define the individual tiles.
One thing I’ve learned about painting with acrylics is that it can be very forgiving. However, to use this to your best advantage, you must remember one thing. Never leave a hard edge or lay on the paint thick enough at this stage to leave visible paint strokes. When blocking in areas on the canvas, be sure to feather the edge of the area you’re painting.
For instance, if you outline the side of a square shape by dragging your brush along the edge of the box with the chisel edge of the brush perpendicular to the edge of the box, you’re likely to leave a little ridge of paint along the sides of the box. Maybe that box shape was the front of a house or building. Later in the painting, you might decide to paint some shrubbery in front of that building or maybe you make a major change and eliminate the building all together replacing it with a differently shaped structure. Unless subsequent coats of paint are thick enough to hide it, that little ridge of paint along the edge of that square shape will show up if you look at the painting under certain lighting conditions or from certain angles. So, someone looking at your painting will see a straight line reflected from the light in the room and this straight line runs right through the tree standing at the front corner of this house.
It would be much better to hold your brush with the chisel edge of the bristles parallel to the straight edge of the box shape. Place the bristles almost on the line and drag the brush towards the center of the box figure, making sure not to deposit too much paint on the canvas at the beginning of the stroke.
This, ladies and gentlemen, I speak of from personal experience.
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