I have started painting backdrops and the wet on wet will take some practice. I think selecting better brushes will help a lot. It’s not as easy as it looks.
RMax
A few pictures…
RMax
What exactly is “Wet on wet”?
Wet on wet is rolling the surface with blue paint and then blending with in up from the bottom. While the blue is still wet you take the edge of the brush and blot in the clouds. You allow the blue to actually mix with the white paint.
RMax
on the local PBS station here they have “Bob Ross” who painted using this method. Also might check the local craft store like Micheals for his books. I used this method a while back and it works good, bit takes a little practice. You might want to try on some cheap canvas’ before doing the back drop
Watch Bob Ross or Bill Alexander paint. They used this technique in their shows and teachings. Basically, the canvas has a wet basecoat on it, and the entire painting is done while the paint is wet, starting with thicker paints and then gradually making the next layers thinner since a thin paint will stick to a thick paint. Traditional methods of painting took a long time to do since you would have to let each layer dry before starting the next. This method also allows you to blend colors on the canvas rather than having to mix everything on the palette.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wet-on-wet
I started this technique of painting last April (http://chatanuga.org/KLWArt.html).
Kevin
I really like your paintings, especially the hazy trees behind the creek. Well done. [tup]
Just go to Youtube and search for Bill Alexander. There are a whole set of video’s that show you exactly the how and the why’s. Be aware that a stretched canvas reacts differently to the brush than a hard (non-springy) surface.
Choo Choo
If those are your first attempt, they came out better than my first or second try. (Haven’t gone to third try yet.)
Nice thing is that you can do a section, if you don’t like it, redo the blue and start over.
The one comment I would have on your clouds would be, a little heavier with white on the tops of the clouds. Your in cloud white came out well, but I’d say the tops could use more white.
A good start.
Have fun,
Richard
Thanks! That one is one of my favorites that I’ve done so far. It’s based on “Babbling Brook” from series 30 episode 1 of The Joy of Painting.
The picture of me with the paintings is actually from this past Christmas. My parents got the one with the creek. My brother and his family got the one with the “wood” background. The picture below is from last July with my earliest work.
The one on the left was my second attempt and was the first one that I actually completed. I’d used too much of the liquid white on my first painting attempt, and when I went to highlight my mountain, the highlights slid downward.
The middle painting (framed) was my second actual painting. I did that with a Bob Ross instructor.
The painting on the right is based on “Golden Rays of Sunlight” from The Joy of Painting. It could have turned out better, but it was a good exercise in getting to use the gessos.
Kevin