How I create my paintings #2

My most recent painting was created using a totally different technique from the one I wrote about in my last post.

Instead of laying washes of colour first and then 'drawing' the details on with the paint, the drawing is made in finished detail before anything is put onto the canvas.

This is the drawing I made first. I worked on it for ages until I was completely happy with the composition and had an idea of the different tones.

I then traced the drawing onto the canvas and began to 'colour in' if you like, using my drawing as a guide to translate tone into colour. This first layer was thinned down with white-spirit.

I continued in this way right across the painting surface, using colours that I felt were near enough to how I imagined the finished piece to look.

Still only using thinned down paint and keeping to an all over mid tone, I could then add darker tones and highlights later on.

Once the whole surface was covered with a thin layer of paint of a relatively mid tone I waited for it to dry completely. I then covered over the whole painting again with pure oil paint adding darker tones and mid tones so as to take the whole look of the painting to a much darker all over tone. When this layer was dry I then went on to add the highlights.

I wanted to create a soft contrast between dark and light but still enough to capture the brightness of the moonlight. Having used acrylic paints for so long before I switched to oils, I still find myself using similar techniques. I used a 'dry-brush' scumbling technique on certain areas of the painting when it was totally dry to create yellowy warm glows on some areas. I was quite pleased with the result!