Step One
I always work with my reference photo ‘Blu-tacked’ to the easel as a guide. Firstly, I block in the sky and significant areas like foliage and rock. I’m trying to pick up the general tone and weight to create an undercoat and a sense of where I want to go. I’m using very thinned paints, (turps or stand oil and turps 1:3), and throwing colour down very much like a watercolour wash. Like water colours, I lay in light tones, such as Naples Yellow, Burnt Sienna and Yellow Ochre with White, then dark. That may be a thicker paste, but also includes Viridian, Prussian Blue and Van Dyke Brown. I use pointed Taklon brushes to sketch in my rock shadows, and allow drips and runs, as they will…
