Acrylic Underpainting Demonstration Painting

Thank you to those who made it out to Opus in Kelowna on April 12, 2013 to see my presentation, the Power of the Underpainting. Here is the progression of the acrylic painting that I started during that demo. As promised, I will be posting photos of the painting as it develops.

Acrylic Demo - Stage 1

When I got home I was quite pleased with the underpainting.  I really liked the warm tones in the upper middle of the tree.  I wanted to carry that colour elsewhere in the painting.  I also felt that the dark area under the tree needed to come down further into the foreground to anchor all that bright foliage.

I developed the foliage further, both with the warm colour, very cool (bluish) greens that I brushed on transparently and some brighter yellow greens.  I added lots more tree structure (trunks and branches) varying the value from darker at the base of the tree to lighter and warmer towards the ends of the branches. 

Stage 2

I added the light in the sky and reflected it in the water.  I used negative painting to develop the sky further, working around the branches and foliage.  I also developed the foliage further using both bright and neutral colours.

Stage 3

I step back at this point and check values.  There is a light spot in the water that has to go.  I develop the reflection of the branches in the water with a variety of blues from blue green to blue violet.  Every time I get a chance, I scumble a bit more paint into the sand in the foreground.  It is an easy way to build up the texture of the sand.  At the end, a few brush strokes will pull that area together.

I take the time at this point (and use up paint on my palette) to paint the edges of the canvas.  As I mentioned in the demonstration, I don’t frame my work.  Continuing the image around the edges gives the painting a 3D look that many people like. Usually I do that as I am applying the underpainting and then I refine the edges towards the end of the painting.


Check back soon for the completion of this painting.