Step 1. Adding a bit more warmth to the rim of the tea cup.
I add a touch of the permanent Alizarin crimson to the burnt umber to closer match the tone. This is lightened by adding a tiny amount of cadmium yellow and titanium white, then working from the lightest side of the tea I scumble the paint over the surface. A small amount the glazing liquid gloss helps to blend any edges.
Step 2. Using the pure Ultramarine blue I adjust the drawing of the cup. (1.05min)
This paint is not too thick as I want some of the under painting to show through. This helps to add variety to the paint surface.
Step 3. Quick demo of a glaze with the ultramarine blue. (2.45min)
This helps to tone down the brightness of the blue whilst still maintaining luminosity.
Step 4. Adding highlights (3.15min)
Using pure titanium white, without any water, I add the highlights to the tea and the another area of the cup. I work quickly trying to achieve the highlight with one stroke. Don’t be discouraged if it doesn’t go to plan, highlights can take practice to be able to judge the correct amount of paint. Just have some damp kitchen roll to hand and you will be able to easily rub the highlight back without damaging the painting underneath.
Step 5. Reflected light
Add a few dashes of reflected light, ultramarine blue & white. The mix is translucent with the glazing liquid to still be subtle and transparent on the shadow side of the cup. More impasto (thick paint) used for side in the light.
Leave A Reply (2 comments So Far)
todd scholes
14 years ago
Will Kemp
14 years agoHi Todd,
Really great to hear you’ve been enjoying the still life course, it’s good to stretch yourself!
Regarding the glazing, if the paint is drying too quickly you can try a technique called a ‘couch’. This is where you apply a thin layer of glazing liquid to the area you’re working on and then work the glazes on top of that. This should give you a few more minutes to get the blend right.
Also your glaze mix might be too weak, so try add in more pigment – if it’s too much when you paint it on, have a piece of kitchen roll handy and wipe it back, as long as you have the ‘couch’ underneath it it’ll stay wet long enough to do this.As for the brush, it depends on the brush manufacturer as to how long the bristles are, but yes, mine is quite an old brush and they do get shorter with age, also a new brush will be quite soft and age definitely makes the bristles harder and scrubbier!
Shop around, a hog hair brush might suit you better as it would have more of that scrubby quality, although Hogs are for Oil painting I do buy them for acrylics as well, so a good question!Looking forward to seeing the end result,
Thanks
Will
I like this project Will, very challenging for me. I’ll send a photo when I’m done. I did have two things to mention though. First, when going back to blend color edges with the glazing, I’m finding that there is very little effect. I’m wondering if painting outside of Denver Colorado at over 5,000ft. in altitude could be the problem. It’s so dry here the paint drys practically the instant it hits the canvas. Also, I’ve noticed your filbert bristles are much shorter than mine. I like that and was wondering if that is due to wearing from use or do you cut them down when new? Sorry in advance if it’s a silly question but I’m finding scrubbing difficult with my new brushes. Love your teaching style and your work.
Todd Scholes