The River Series: The Finished Paintings

A lot of you have been interested in seeing the pieces I started in the "Fantastic Titanic Art Week Part 4" post a few weeks ago. Well here they are!


"Admiring The Stream", Oil on Panel, 20"x30"


"Into The Enchanted Forest", Oil on Panel, 16"x20"


"The Cool River", Oil on Panel, 16"x30"

As a bonus to all those who would be interested, I took process shots of every stage for all 3 paintings.












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Step 1: Watercolor Drawing - I like to start with a watercolor wash because it's easier to erase, not quite as staining, and you can paint over it immediately after it dries. You can sketch it out very fast, then when you add the first layer of oil over this, there's already an extra layer.

Step 2: Oil Wash - Reinforcing the drawing, covering the entire canvas, and establishing the overall light and dark value pattern. Pretty much just burnt umber at this point.

Step 3: Background - I paint in the light side of the background, and just the overall local color. I also place the overall sky color in.

Step 4: Bottom Layer - I paint on another layer for the darks, and block in the local color for the middle ground.

Step 5: Sky Clouds - I basically finish the sky and the clouds in one sitting. I like to work back to foreground; if you paint over a plane closer to you with a stroke that's meant for a background element, that will always tend to come toward you. That's why when you paint skyholes into tree shapes they always tend to stand forward unless you soften them somehow.

Step 6: Second Layer of the Background - This is where I start to lay down what will become the basis of the finished painting. I am starting to model the form and try to get the colors/values/edges right.

Step 7: Middle Ground - More of what I started with the last step, this time I take it to the overall painting.

Step 8: Lights/foreground - I now paint in the entire foreground, and also bring the light areas to an overall finish.

Step 9: Figure - I now model the figure and take it to about an 80% finish.

Step 10: Finish - I fix anything that needs fixing, and also add any extra glazes and overall color adjustments.

Keep on the lookout for more pieces in this series, they will be coming soon!