In my previous post you learned about my large 48×72 commission painting that is to go into a Military hospital at Ford Hood. Being based in Texas the requested commission was to be a Texas landscape with bluebonnets. In the next several posts I will be sharing the progression of this project as an Oil Painting Demo a Texas landscape.

The first step: ( remember to click on the image for an enlargement)

To begin I started with the large Oak tree. Working with a large flat bristle brush I blocked in the light and shadowed areas of the tree foliage to establish the tree’s form. I then added some limb structure.  You may wish to look at this post on How to Paint a Tree which is a very basic approach. Now that I have a basis to compare and judge other color and values I move on to the section behind the large tree. I also established some of the rock outcropping underneath and in front of the tree.

After this painting session I moved to the next adjacent area of importance. The distant hills.

I started with the distant hill with white, ultramarine blue and a speck of cadmium orange to gray it. As the next hill progressed forward I darkened the blue mix with more ultramarine blue. It also made it more intense and less blue gray.  The next layer of hills start showing some structure of trees. It’s a simple area of light and dark, with the values relatively close in range. Shadows are kept in the blue range with the addition of a little violet. The light areas are variations of warm colored grays, however they are cooler in temperature than the colors closer to us.  One of the grays was made by adding cadmium orange to ultramarine blue and then white. This value represented the light on the trees. Some areas had a spec of green added to the mix, but you have to keep away from any strong yellows or you’ll destroy the atmospheric perspective. Ask yourself, why do blue hills made of green trees look blue? The yellow element is missing.

I’ll continue to refine this area and when complete I’ll be sure to include a close up.