australian out back 101
TRANSCRIPT
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HOW TO PAINT THE AUSTRAL IAN OUTBACK
Jo found an old
photograph of a
truck that her
great uncle had
taken in the
1930s when he
was mustering cattle
in the Australian
outback.
I loved the
picture at once -
it is so Australian.
So to enhance the
Aussie theme we
added more gum trees
and the ubiquitous
farm chickens.
ART
IN THE
MAKING
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HOW TO
PAINT THE
AUSTRALIAN
OUTBACKJos Notes
The idea of these ebooks is to give instructionon subjects . This is my final painting and as
you can see it is quite different to Barbs
My board is bigger. I chose a bigger board
because I dont have Barbs dexterity and Iwanted half a chance at painting reasonabledetail. Id never really given gum trees a go
and as you can see, Ive gone and picked acompletely different tree to Barb. This is
because I had it in my head that I wanted
chickens roosting in it.Thats for myamusement. On the next page your first
instruction is to draw the scene. So draw ithow you want. I have a lot of trees in the
background. I did this because I wanted thepractise. I also gave myself a chance to
practice depth by putting a line of denser trees
way up the back. We picked the backgroundfor its magnificent colours. Barbs is closer to
the real colours. Ive gone a little nutschoosing to stick with the colours the photo
had with assistance of a filter
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WHAT THE ARTIST USED
Colours
Titanium White
Ultramarine BlueYellow Ochre
Cadmium Red (Hue)Lemon YellowCerulean Blue
Cobalt
Session 1:Draw the SceneWith a landscape or seascape, I
always draw the horizon, even
if it is not visible. With a per-
fectly horizontal line on whichto work, it helps keep every-
thing level. I use a HB pencil
with a light touch. My rule of
thumb for a nicely positioned
focal point is to have the ex-tremities of the focal area in
equal distance from the side
edges. The distance from the
focal area to the top of the can-
vas should be greater than it is
to the bottom. (In this painting
I have incorporated the truck,
gum tree and surrounding
chooks as the focal area.)
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Odourless Turpentine
SupportCanvas board 30 x 40 cm
Brushes
No.0 and 1 taklon round for fine linesNo. 2 taklon round for distant hillsNo.4 taklon round for background
No.2 fan bristle for foregroundNo. 4 and 10 flat bristle for large areas
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How to Paint The Australian Outback
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Use a nice, soft round No.2 brush for your clouds. While the blue sky is still wet, dab on small amounts of white, feathering them off aroundthe edges into the shapes desired. Clouds can be anything you imagine. We made ours soft and fluffy by spreading the white into directionallines across the canvas. Dont use too much white at this stage, as it will spread further than you want. Once your clouds are basically
drawn in with the white paint, you can accentuate the whites where needed i.e. the tops of the clouds and down into the middle of some.Feather this off once again around the edges back into your cloud. Clouds are all about soft, feathery brushstrokes. You can further teasesome of the white out into the blue sky with small circular movements for that hazy effect.
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Session 2: Sky and CloudsTo add interest to the sky, we used two different coloursUltra-marine Blue brushed across the top to about of the way thenCerulean Blue. Paint one colour at a time, making sure it lightens
gradually towards the horizon.
ARTY FACTI f you look up at the sky on a clear blue day, you will notice it i s
bluer than if you look into th e distance towards the horizon, where
it becomes li ghter and less blue. I t is the same with cloudsbigger
and whiter up ahead whilst smaller and fain ter towards the hori zon.
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So, where to put some more trees? I painted in some random tree trunks first, trying not to be too uniform in size or height. I used a purpley-red mixture with a bitof whitewe still dont want any dark, hard edges because everything bar the focal point has soft edges and muted colours. Using the same soft brush, I gently
dabbed in the leaves, firstly with a darker mixture of the Ultramarine Blue and Yellow Ochre, then gradually lightening the leaves (from the right and on the top)
with a lighter mixture. Extra highlights can be added to the leaves of the trees that are closer with a light Yellow Ochre. To soften any hard edges on the top of the
trees or on the left (shadow side) you could use a medium tone of Cerulean Blue with white.
Use a mixture of white with a dot of red to highlight the right-hand side of the tree trunks (white alone can sometimes be too harsh for highlights).
Make sure to dab some shadows on the trunks and branches especially under groups of leaves. These can be a purple mixture.
Remember when painting all the shadow and highlights on all of your trees, that they will become slightly sharper, with more colour as they progress forward.
Be careful not to be too neat or stylisedmess up the leaves by dabbing back into the tree, making sure there are no hard edges. Some of my branches and trunks
were a bit too dark and hard, so I toned them down with a light purpley-red mix.
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Session 3: BackgroundI am a methodical painter; so I usually paint from top to bottom, back to front and from the left. So after the sky I started with the horizon, the furthest point. To
give the painting depth I loosely painted in a line of trees along the horizon using Ultramarine Blue, a tiny bit of Cerulean and white. My aim is to be only 2 shades
darker than the sky so that the trees look distant, almost blending into the sky. I painted in a second row of distant trees with the same mixture, only darker and add-
ing a touch of Yellow Ochre for a bit more colour. Highlights for these distant trees are a soft pastel colour (Ultramarine Blue, Yellow Ochre and white) using a
round No.4 brush to gently feather off around the edges so there are no hard edges.Before any more trees were added I
brushed on a thin layer of Yellow
Ochre and white from the horizondown, gradually darkening the mix
towards the bottom of the canvas.
I say a thin layer because I will be
going over the background again
later.
ARTY FACTDont forget the thick on thin
rul e with oil paint; a thick
layer of paint wil l dr y slower
than a thi n layer. Conse-
quently i f r eversed i.e. a thi n
layer of paint is pain ted over a
thick l ayer th at is not quite
dry, the top layer wil l eventu -
ally crack.
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Jos NotesThe first thing youll notice with mine
is Im a little indecisive with what part
of the sky I want to appear dark or light.
I wrestled with this the whole painting
due to this initial indecisiveness. Have areal think about what you want the end
result to be. I really liked the look of
our outback photo which accentuated
the colours and I wanted to reflect that
in my painting. I also knew I wanted the
clouds to be very similar, so again Ishould have worked harder on that idea
or made the decisions earlier, but any-
way its early and I do get a good result
at the end.
Just saying, learn from my mistake
Jos Session 3We started to place the trees. The photo had the bush
in the foreground which thickened to a denser area of
bush at the back. In the session we made a few stand
alones, I tried to make it appear the same . Working
with a small round brush, I rolled the circles of bushes
in light green and then put in darker centres. Along the
bottom, I have made it quite blue. This immediately
give the tree line depth and distance. With the trees
that were closer, I actually found it more productive to
paint from the base up and to branch out. It felt like I
was making the tree grow just how it might in nature.
As I wasnt actually trying to make my trees look ex-
actly the same as the ones in the photo, I didnt feel the
need to hold myself to any shape. Real trees dont dothat.
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Session 4: The TruckThe old truck appeared to have a handmade tray made out of
wood. We decided to paint the metal parts of the truck first so
that we could concentrate on the rusty colours. The darks were
filled in first using Cadmium Red and Ultramarine. The rest
of the metal bits were then painted with the red and YellowOchre. These two colours mixed together produced a lovely
orangey-rust colour. I then dabbed in some blues, both dark
and light, to break up the orange and give it a metallic shine
here and there. Details, as in the dark lines, were dabbed in
with our dark red and Ultramarine mix.
Highlights were dabbed in with a light orange (red, Yellow
Ochre and white). By adding some light purple to this mix and
a bit more white, extra shine was dabbed onto the top of the
bonnet and steering wheel.
We need our rusty metal colour again to paint in the metal
brackets holding the wood together and the metal rail for the
seat. I detailed these rusty parts with dabs of Cobalt and red.
Highlights were added with a mix of Cadmium Red, Lemon
Yellow and white.
Before continuing I used leftover Cobalt and red to make a thin
turpsy wash and brushed this under the car and out to create thatlarge shadow. I also brushed in any leftover greys and blues to
cover the gum tree. The idea was to eliminate any white can-
vas, making it easier to decide on further colour schemes for the
grass etc.
ARTY FACTWhere the light hi ts a hard edge, the shadow is darker wi th
more colour then gradates in to the lighter area.
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Jos NotesWhat I can see now is Barb hasmade definitive patches of colour.
This is a difficult concept to
grasp. As soon as I make a patch,I feel the need to sort it. So you
can see, I have some colour, but
Ive smoothed it out and blended
it where Barb has left it sitting
there. When Barb comes back
later and paints over these areas,
these colours can then come
through without muddying up!
Jos NotesWhere did we get the colours for our rusty
car? As you have seen, we had a very old pic-
ture, it was so old it was sepia, so we impro-
vised. Barb spotted a couple of old rusty
wrecks and took some photos. They were per-
fect. We even changed the car a little to in-
clude a more complete wheel assembly on the
back to make it more interesting.
Now for the wooden tray. Brush the wood horizon-
tally as if you were actually painting old timber
sleepers. We mixed Cobalt and red with a touch of
Lemon Yellow to get that old grey colour. As usual,
the darks were painted in first and then streakedthrough with a lighter grey. (Darks should be un-
derneath and in cracks.) To break up the grey col-
our we added some browns and oranges. Using
your fine brush, detail the tray with a dark mix of
Cobalt and red for fine lines, holes and cracks in the
wood grain. Then with a very light grey, streak
again above the cracks and through the wood.
Lastly, use your white for added highlights on the
top and back of the tray.
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Session 5: The Gum TreeThe first step to painting a eucalyptus (or gum) tree is to make it appear round. Dont worry about any detail just yet. I wanted my tree to be a creamy colour with
grey peeling bark. I painted in the creamy colour first then the greys.
The creamy colour was made with a mix of Lemon Yellow, Cadmium Red with a touch of Ultramarine and white. I dabbed this in where I wanted the creamy
patches. Next step was to fill in the rest of the tree with a mid-tone grey of Ultramarine, Cadmium Red and a touch of Lemon Yellow. This was all then feathered
off lightly with a soft brush to give a nice smooth round tree.Once smooth and round, the tree is then ready for shadow, highlights and detail. Darks should be
painted approximately 2/3 of the width of the tree, continuing down the middle allowing for the
highlights to be painted on the right side. I did one colour at a time starting with the dark grey in
the shadow section then onto the dark creams through the shadow section.
Now for the highlights on the right. Again I started with the grey colour, which was nearly white,
then the creamy colour that was also nearly white.
Barbs TipReflective light is very
useful in giving colourand contrast to shadow
areas. It is fun to use but
be careful not to overdo
it. It is stronger in hue
(colour) and usually re-
flects the surrounding
background.
Jos NotesIve got the base coat on. Mytree has a different kind of bark
on it and its peeling away dif-
ferently, but the basic colours
underneath will be the same. Imay need to change my colour-
ing a little so it doesnt blend in
too much with all the other rusty
browns of the car.
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Session 5: The Gum TreeSo, back to the shadow area of
the tree. As our light source is
emanating from the right, there
only remains some reflective
light on the left of the tree.Dont go crazy but a lovely
clean mix of Ultramarine Blue
and white on the left edge dab-bing in a little to emphasise an
edge here and there, gives the
tree solidity.
Making that bark peel! The
idea is that the creamy patches
of gum are smooth, while the
peeling grey bark is rough and
textured i.e. it has hard edges.
I added oranges and browns to
the peeling bark and feathered
them off slightly into the wet
grey colour. I did this by mix-
ing Yellow Ochre and red with
a touch of the Ultramarine into
the grey areas and then elongat-
ing some of them into strips of
bark. I then added some high-
lights to the end of these stripswith a light orange. To give the
impression of peeling bark,
shadows were dabbed in under-
neath with a purple, feathering
off slightly down into the light.
Lastly, extra highlights were
added by using pure white
dabbed onto the right side of
the tree into the wet paint.
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Session 6: ChickensAfter much deliberation, we decided on the colour of our chickens. We didnt want them to blend in too much with the background or in the dark foreground shad-
ows. So, the first chook we decided to paint was the one closest to us. White seemed the best colour here as it was bright and would stand out from the shadowy
background.
The white chicken: Dont worry about any detail at first. The aim here is to firstly give the chook body and depth by us-
ing your tones (midtones, shadows and highlights) and separating the wing from the body. So pure white was appliedfirst across the birds back, the top of the wing, right-hand side of the tail and right
side of the legs. Thats the highlights done. Next are the mid-tones made with a
very light purple and feathered off gently into the white highlights. Remember, the
chicken is white so shadows are very light. Shadows are next made with a slightly
darker purple and brushing down towards the bottom of the wing, underneath the
bird, front of the neck and left side of the legs.
Now details can be added with a fine brush.
ARTY FACTWhite reflects surrounding colours.
Highlights reflecting the sky can be a cool blue. So any areas that are facing the sky can be brushed through with fine strokes of very light Ultramarine Blue. Whenbrushing colours through your wet paint, imagine you are actually painting the feathers by softly stroking in the direction of feather growth. Slightly darker oranges
and pinks can similarly be stroked through the shadow areas indicating reflected light from the surrounding grasses. (These will be areas that are facing down-
wards.) With a clean, fine brush, reapply areas with pure white to redefine highlights and tone down any areas that you may have made a little too dark or colourful.
We still want a white chicken!Lastly, dab in the red comb and legs in a dark red made with Cadmium Red and a dot of Ultramarine. Dabbing into the left side of the legs again will darken them
further. At the same time brush this dark colour from under the body and down the legs slightly to push the legs back under the body. Also the feet can be in the
same dark red, as they will later be covered with grass and ultimately be in shadow anyway. Dot highlights of very light pink on the top and right side of the red
comb, finishing with a fine line of white for the beak.
The black chicken:We thought that a black chicken would stand out better in the sunlight than in a shady
area. I had to move my bird further into the sunny area behind and to the left of the big gum tree in order for it tostand out. I seldom use black paint, as it tends to be flat and lifeless. Instead my darks are generally made from
Cadmium Red and Ultramarine with a dot of Lemon. I painted in the darkest areas first.
When you add white to this dark mix it will give a clearer indication of the colour and may need to be adjusted. I
didnt want a purple chook so I added a bit more Lemon and white to the mix and painted in the rest of the
chicken. Remembering my light source I brushed in the top of the head, wing and leg and his chest. As with the
white chicken, we can still add colour by giving him blue highlights on upward facing planes and fairly dark oranges and pinks to downward facing planes.
The comb was painted in the same way as the white chickens comb (dark red). Dab in the highlights using a very fine brush. Lastly, treat the legs in the same way
as the previous chicken using your dark red for shadow and light pink for highlights.
Jos Chicken
Jos Chicken
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Session 6: Chickens
Barbs TipVery dark areas and objects still need lots of colour dabbed through to break them up.
The orange chicken: I think by now you could probably paint a chicken blindfolded. I made this chicken a
dark orangey-red to make it stand out from the light creamy background. Darks were painted in first and
then the highlights. After blocking him in with the two tones of shadow and highlight, I streaked the col-ours back through the wet paint with a fine brush to give him his feathery look. As this bird is sitting on the
truck I needed to create a shadow underneath him. I mixed a dark purple and brushed
it under his feathers where they overlapped the wooden tray of the truck. By adding a
little white I could then brush it softly down the side of the tray.
My two-tone chicken: I really couldnt decide on the colour of this chicken as white
would have been too purple against the wooden truck and dark red too similar to my
rusty wheel. Of course black would have finished up looking like a black blob in theshadows. So I used all the colours. I cheated a bit. To make my chook stand out
from the truck, I placed light colours next to dark areas of the truck and vice versa. Of
course it really depends on where you place your chicken. Now that you know how to
paint a chicken, it was really a matter of following the same techniques as before.
Remember that this chicken is in the shadow area, so highlights need to be muted
by adding a bit of a purple mix to them.
So, as you can see, I have made his back a very yellow orange to help it stand out
from the dark area of the truck. Similarly the tail is very dark against the lighter areas of the truck.
Feet can be quite dark, as grass will be painted up over them later.
Jos NotesFrom an orange, to a tree, to a chicken, everything is about giving the impression of shape and shading.
How do you make a chicken look like a chicken? Dont be afraid to have more than one attempt. I
have 5 chickens in my painting. That gave me 5 opportunities to make the shape and put the texture in.
My chickens are larger, my elements are not as refined, but they look like chickens and now I have or-
ders so...
Jos Chickens
Jos Chicken
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Session 7: The GrassThe foreground grass will be our final step. So I went back to the horizon and further blurred out the distant line of trees with a light rub of white and Yellow Ochre.
I re-wet the ground with this mix, so that I could introduce some shadows from under the trees. With a purple mix, I roughly dabbed out from the tree trunks, fol-
lowing my light source. Start with fine lines and as you come forward, widen them slightly, allowing for the intimation of leafy shadows. With a clean light Yellow
Ochre, I then feathered off the ends of theshadows, always brushing in the direction of
our light source.
Now for some warmth. As we proceed
down the canvas we need to add some
warmer colours to our shadows in the back-
ground. I mixed some Cadmium Red and
Yellow Ochre with a dot of Lemon and
brushed this over the shadows from the trees
and feathered them off yet again into the wet
paint. I also brushed this colour up into the
bottom of the tree trunks to further blendthem into the background, as well as to add
some reflective light into the left side of the
trunks.
We are only painting down to the sides ofthe gum tree and truck at this stage. Well
deal with the foreground in the next stage.
So lets start messing up the grass. We
dont want to look like weve just mowed
the lawn! Using the corner of a flat No.4
brush, I roughly streaked through the grass,
including the shadows with a very light mixof Yellow Ochre and Cadmium Red. In the
same way, I went through the grass with a
darker mix. Dab randomly throughout the
grass especially into any flat spots to fur-
ther break up the tones. My painting needed
some more oranges so I added some lemon
to my mix and proceeded to break up the
grassy areas yet again.
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Session 8: The ForegroundWe are painting from dark to light now. Strengthen the large shadow under the truck and gum with a mix of Yellow Ochre, Cadmium Red and Ultramarine Blue.
The shadow should be darker directly underneath the truck gradually lightening as it emerges into the light. Dont forget some shadow under the chooks that are in
the sunlight. With this colour still on the brush, lightly dab a little behind the truck and tree to indicate shadow from the overhead leaves. From hereon I used the
fan brush, continually changing colours and tones and streaking through the wet paint with the corner of the brush. I used lovely oranges, yellows and white for
highlights. Before grabbing more paint onthe brush I just brushed these colours up be-
hind the truck softly to unify the colours into
the background.
Critique
Ok, time to stand back and evaluate.
Check L istThe centre of interest should be the only star
in the painting. Are there too many fighting
for attention? If you have a spot stealing
attention from the focal point, tone it down.
Too busy? You can delete elements tostrengthen your painting. If theres no place
to rest your eyes, you should eliminate or
subdue one or more of the objects in the
painting.
Style or idea should be consistent through-
out.
In this painting we do have a lot of move-
ment and the focal point is quite large and
busy. I decided to go back into the back-
ground and further tone it down so that the
background appeared more peaceful and dis-
tant. Just go over some of your darker toneswith a lighter tone of the same colour if you
need to tone it down. Other than that I thinkit works. Hope you had as much fun as I did
painting this scene. Just remember that it is
fun, and if you get stuck at all just give me
an email so that I might be able to help.
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Jos Notes:I had a lot of fun with the texture of the grass, it hid the
white chickens legs, which I wasnt happy with. My
chickens arent exactly proportionate, but I can live with
that, I started to get the hang of the gum trees by the end,
I just kept adding texture. I discovered if I made the gum
leaves a light grey the third time I went over it, it gave
texture and gave the gum tree more volume.
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