This month we were looking at still life pictures with backgrounds using examples by the CBPS presidents – Qu Leilei and Jane Evans.

The aim was to start by creating a background using various puddles of washes and hake brushes to  paint a background using colours of your choice. Letting it dry (or, because our time was limited, dry it with a hair drier to save time) and then paint a still life over the top.

Worth noting is pictures loose colour if you dry with a hair dryer, so if you can, be patient and wait for it to dry.

These are some of the paintings produced.

This month we were looking at multi-brush loading and, although flowers
were on offer, everyone chose blue green landscape! We were looking at the
work of Qu Leilei and Xu Yunxiang. We were looking at a form of free style
blue green landscape. This technique is time consuming and cannot be rushed!
Nothing was finished in class.

Having completed our ink outlines, texture and ink tonal work – we then
looked at the requirements for double brush loading underpainting. Double
loading a wash brush of an appropriate size for the painting with an
appropriate shade burnt sienna to about 70% and indigo to about 30%. Put the
tip of the brush where you want to indigo to be and work down and across the
rock structure using the whole length of the brush – work stoke by stroke.
Overlap layers ad you work down. As you go the indigo runs out and you end
up with only burnt sienna. Do not reload the brush (if possible) until you
have filled the space you are working on. Think about the size of the brush
you need to allow you to do this.

Start at the front and work back lightening the tone of the colours as you
work backwards to give the impression of distance.

Leave Until Almost Dry

Next, the over painting. Load a brush with mineral green down to 70% and
mineral blue down to 30% blend in some 451 to darken the blue down to about
20%. Again, think about where you want the blue, and put the tip at that
point. Work down and across the rock structure using the whole brush –
pulling the brush down the structure for each stroke. Overlap layers as you
work down. Do not cover all of the burnt sienna at the bottom. As you work
back dilute the colours. Add in your foliage and colours on other objects in
the picture. Add some background was if appropriate.

Here are some of other examples started on the day and finished at home.