How I paint basic scenery

Model Railroader General Discussion (Model Railroader)
1

The following is an after thought from posting on another thread

After painting my basic plaster mountain with a single color, it looked beter, but kind of blaa as the world was only one color. I will add more brush and trees later and of course detail the track.

After painting my plaster mountain with a earth tone latex, I used very thin washes of yellow oxide, burnt umber, Paynes grey, burnt umber, raw sienna, and hooker green and all most overlaped them, on the second and third coats of this thin wash I overlaped them giving the payns grey for shodows and the hooker tint in grassy areas.

This canyon is painted different as it is Bragdons Geodesic Scenery. First its painted with Gesso (same white paint as to cover an artist canvas) . After the Gesso drys, black tempra powder is brushed on then wiped off with a soft sponge, leaving the black in the crevices, leaving a dull grayish tint on the rest.

Then with the above colors one at a time, using a very wet one inch brush, a minute ( A tiny bit of paint) amount is brushed on the rock surface in spots, so that when all the colors are used it will compleatly cover the area, while using a soft towel to catch drips or runs, blotting them off.

Using a thin wash will let the gesso bring out some great color and it will really pop out. Every visitor trys to touch my canyon’s cliff, then ask if it is really rocks,

Then several more coats of these very thin washes overlaping untill you get the effect you want, sand tones for desert and the greys and greens for granit. If one paint to much color, just Gessor over and do it again.

Just my two cents…John

2

looks great john thanks for sharing. Dave

3

The rocks in the second picture look particularly convincing. Good work!

4

Looks fantastic. I’m going to give this a try.

When you brush on/wipe off the black tempera powder, is it totally dry? Are you misting it? Is the sponge damp when you wipe off?

5

After the white gesso has dryed. Brush on and dab the brush getting the dry powder into the cracks and crevices.

Yes, a mister with wet water works great.

Add a touch of dish detergent to make wet water in a bucket, dab or wipe off with a wet sponge, leaving the now wet tempora in the crecices to dry. The top of the boulders will have a slight grey appearence…let dry, then apply washes.

A wash is a wet brush with a speck of color on it, extreamly light is the key.

Wipe with a soft towel any bloches or water runs before they set with your other hand, while washing various colors.

the first few washes dont look great at all as it will be the acumalative application that really comes to life. If your wash is barley noticable and sort of transparent, it is perfect, in this manner the gesso will bring the vivid colors to life, when different colors ar washed over the other, as a painter does on canvas, whats neat is that one does not have to be artistic to do it, it just kinda falls in place.

The top picture does not really pop out, as the washes are over an earth tone latex, but the varying effect over a dull latex is ok for an earthey uneven look. I think this area will really come to life when it is further sceniced.

I have not used this method on WS plaster yet, I will in a few days as Im wokng on a bridge now.

Hope this helps…John

6

Terrific work, John and very well explained. Your use of transparent paint is right on the money. Love those rocks! Please keep us posted.

Mike