Early Summer Garden
This is an excerpt from the Book called “Painting Houses & Gardens In Watercolor “ by Richard Taylor. Continue reading to learn more about Early Summer Garden, thanks to the author.
Demonstration
Early Summer Garden
The time of the year when the fresh, acidic greens of spring turn into the soft, warm greens of early summer is ideal for painting gardens with many trees growing. The shadows are often a little more gentle and the lighting less harsh than the midsummer days when the sun is at its most intense and a sense of easy growth sits easily upon mature gardens like the one painted here.
- This scene required a solid pencil drawing, establishing the trees, windows, and path within the composition. I painted the building using a wash of Raw Sienna applied to dampened paper. Before this was dry I added a mix of Raw Umber and French Ultramarine to the areas around the doors and windows, where both shading and the effects of weather could be seen.
2. Next, I painted the windows using a small brush and a mixture of Burnt Umber and French Ultramarine. I applied the paint carefully “around” the trim, leaving these as negative shapes. Reflections were created by using highly diluted paint, next to strong paint, with the occasional flash of white paper showing through.
3. Having completed the building, the foliage of the trees had to be established. Working onto wet paper, I washed Olive Green across the bulk of the foliage. While the underwash was drying Cadmium Yellow was dropped onto the tops and allowed to blend, brightening the tone.
4. When the underwash had dried I used a dark green, mixed from Sap Green, Burnt Umber and French Ultramarine, to distinguish the different trees. Painting “behind” one tree tends to push the other tree forward visually in the composition.
5. Having established the basic undertones, the main colors of the trees could be painted. This involved using a medium brush to wash a light acidic green mixed with Sap Green and a great deal of Cadmium Yellow across the main bulk of the foliage, leaving some of the underwash to still show through and emphasize depth.
6. The ground needed attention next. This was created by applying a Raw Sienna underwash across the bottom section of the paper. When this had dried I mixed a wash of Olive Green with a touch of the dark tree greens and “pulled” this across the grass area using the side of the brush.
7. The tree trunks needed to be completed to make the connection between the upper and lower sections of the composition. Using a lot of very wet paint, I applied Raw Umber, Burnt Umber and French Ultramarine to the tree trunks and allowed the color to bleed freely.
8. The stones in the path were suggested by the use of positive and negative shapes, rather than painting in every one that was visible. These were painted in varying tones of warm gray mixed from Raw Umber, Burnt Umber, Raw Sienna, and French Ultramarine.
9. Early Summer Garden
9 × 13 in (24× 34 cm)
Once the shadows had been pulled across the ground, dissecting the composition, the interplay of light and shade was complete. The warmth of the day had been established by the use of warm colors-Raw Sienna and Olive Green-and the introduction of a soft violet in the shadows.
