Autumn Landscape with River

This is a painting I did that I’ve copied from a photo I got from the web. I’d like to share with you how I’ve approached this work, step by step.

Original Photo

Materials

Support

The painting was made on a MDF 30×40 panel, on which I’ve layered three coats of a mixture made up of: 30% Vinavil + 70% water. I didn’t do any preliminary imprimatura.

Colors

• Sky and river: white, payne’s grey, a tiny bit of Naples yellow.
• Fields: cadmium green, permanent yellow dark, cinnabar green dark, burnt sienna.
• Hedge (red): burnt umber (background). Scarlet laquer, cadmium red light, permanent yellow dark, cadmium yellow, white.
• Hedge (green): burnt umber (background). Cinnabar green dark, cadmium green, sap green, cadmium yellow light, permanent yellow dark.
• Tree trunks: burnt umber, ultramarine blue, sap green, very little white.

Medium

Liquin Original

Execution of Autumn Landscape with River

Drawing

I printed the photo in the size of my support, and then transferred it with graphite paper. Personally, I simply used my tablet to look at the picture. Alternatively, you can have the photograph professionally printed out (possibly in HD) and have it plastic coated, so you can perform the color test directly on the photograph.

Painting

Let me say, first of all, that as soon as I painted anything, I would immediately do its reflection on the water. First I painted the sky and the river (without at first taking the trees into account), then the house and its reflection, the fields and the embankment walls. Once the base of the sky and river were dry, I added the trees and the boats.

For the leaves on the roof, I used the above mentioned colors, except for the lower area, where I added a bit of dark purple. To get more definition in the field, I dipped the brush in the different colors without mixing them, then I dabbed. On some of the trunks, I added some sap green and permanent yellow dark. Finally I painted the bricks on the house walls, then added the details along the river and retouched the boats.

I painted the tree branches, created the reflection of branches and leaves on water, and retouched the walls under the bushes.

I did the leaves on the trees both on the right and on the left, again by dipping the brush into unmixed colors, and then dabbed. At this point I painted the twigs atop the bushes on the left, added definition to the birch and the boats, and finally I darkened the tree trunks reflected on water.

I worked on the bases of the trees on the right, added definition to the grass, painted the leaves on the field on the left and darkened some of the tree trunks beside the house.

I worked on the area above the hedge on the right and painted that wood structure behind it, did the leaves on the bush on the left, added some more definition to the embankment walls along the river, and slightly darkened all the reflections on the water of the tree trunks of the house… and then I put my signature.

If you like to paint Autumn Landscapes here you’ll find photos for inspiration.