Painting Path - The Beginner Builder (Patreon)

1. Red cup

I think this is the best tutorial to start with because it shows very clearly how you should think about building a painting by seeing big simple shapes.

Key Ideas

. The main focus here is to build a painting using big shapes of flat color like you are building it out of cut out paper.

.These shapes should be made with paint that is thin but NOT transparent.

. Always work dark to light and thin to thick with the paint.

. It’s best to do this on a small canvas.

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2. Sweet Potato

This is a great follow up to the Red Cup tutorial because it uses the same process of big simple shapes but the subject is a little more complex. Also I show you how you can use a simple underpainting to help you map out the values.

Key Ideas

. When doing a value map make sure to keep the paint very thin with paint thinner. It should be transparent. It won’t completely dry by the time you start painting but within ten minutes it will set up enough to paint over top of.

. When blocking out the light side of the potatoes start with the darkest light that you can.

. Always be comparing values and adjusting them as you put more values in.

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3. Plane Fruit

This is a great exercise to help you think of the planes of a subject. Thinking in terms of flat planes will help you identify values and colors a lot easier.

Key Ideas

. Try drawing in the subject with straight lines.

. Block out the light and shadow side in the underpainting value map.

. Work wet into wet paint for the reflected light.

. Identify the plane or shape you want to paint and try to paint it in as few of strokes as possible.

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4. Small Landscape

This fun exercise forces you to see and think in big shapes because your canvas is very small and your brush is very big.

Key Ideas

. Don’t let the fact this is a landscape throw you. We are still using big simple shapes.

. As you move forward in space the trees get warmer meaning there is more red and yellow in the green. They also get darker so the trees way in the distance on the mountain will have more white in them.

. The closer the object the more brushstrokes you can use. So try to paint objects in the distance with simple shapes and brushwork.

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5. Pacific Rocks

This simple still life is great practice with a key element of landscape painting which is atmospheric perspective. Atmospheric perspective is the idea that as objects get further away certain colors drop out. First yellow, then red, and then you’re left with blues. This is what you will use to add depth between the two main rocks on the beach.

Key Ideas

. The sky tends to get lighter and warmer the closer it gets to the horizon.

. Always block out the big shapes with flat color.

. Be comparing the value of these big shapes of flat color as you put them in.

. Using more simple shapes and less brushwork can help sit an object in the distance.

. Never use pure white.

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