Painters Online

START RT 9 Start Art FEBRUARY 2020 www.painters-online.co.uk CREATING DEPTH In landscape painting, we are trying to represent the three-dimensional scene in front of us on a two-dimensional board. The scene will have some objects close to us, some a little further away and so on until we come to the most distant objects we can see. The illusion of distance needs to be created in our paintings. If done successfully, it will give our pictures depth. Linear perspective The further away from us an object is, the smaller it will appear. A straight line of telegraph poles going away from us would appear to get smaller and smaller. This effect is known as linear perspective, commonly referred to just as perspective. If the line of telegraph poles were long enough, they would eventually seem to disappear at a point on the horizon called the ‘vanishing point’. In landscape these effects are drawn with a pencil or charcoal line. Look at the line drawing above to see how linear perspective creates the illusion of depth. Aerial perspective Tone will also be affected by distance. The further away an object is, the lighter, less detailed and less contrasting its tone will appear. This can be achieved simply by adding white to your mixes and reducing the amount of detail. You can paint dark colours in the distance, but they must be lighter than the equivalent foreground darks. This recession of tone, contrast and detail is caused by water droplets and pollutants in the atmosphere and is known to artists as aerial perspective. If you can successfully combine linear and aerial perspective, you will create a true feeling of depth. MIXING GREENS In my basic list of paints I have included a useful, general purpose green. However, if you are a beginner, I would suggest locking away any green you may have for the time being; the temptation to reach for it in times of crisis will be too strong. We all know that blue and yellow make Spring grass Lemon yellow + phthalo blue Summer grass French ultramarine + lemon yellow Autumn/winter grass Cerulean blue + raw sienna Summer trees Phthalo blue + a little burnt sienna Autumn trees Burnt sienna + a little phthalo blue Spring/winter trees French ultramarine + burnt sienna. For spring trees overpaint with small amounts of yellow-green to suggest new growth. green, but there is much, much more to it than that! Add white to the mixes below to vary the tone. However, adding white can make greens look too cool and minty. If so, substitute Naples yellow to warm up your greens. Grass greens Tree greens