3 Reds a Yellow and a Blue
Lots of Fun with a Limited Palette
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Sometimes it pays to break old habits. I rarely use Cadmium Red but, on deciding to paint this rusting hulk on the coast of Ireland, my usual reds (Permanent Alizarin Crimson and Permanent Rose) were not quiet saturated enough to do the job, so in crept some Cadmium Red.
My palette was Quinacridone Gold, Permanent Rose, Permanent Alizarin Crimson, Cadmium Red, and French Ultramarine Blue.
I used a goat hair Hake brush to smooth and control the washes, a 1/2 inch bristle brush to apply most of the main shapes, a #1 liner (or rigger) brush for all the fine lines and a 1/4 inch Taklon one stroke brush for small geometric marks.
I also used a dip in pen and Burnt Sienna pigment ink to build up the rusty weathered patina of the hull. A charcoal pencil took care of the initial drawing.
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The photograph shows the old rusty hull, high and dry at low tide. I would have preferred to take the photo from directly side on, but the sticky mud and few inches of water convinced me to take the shot at an angle. In the painting I will leave out the car and generator on the dock and push the hill right back into the distance.
Lightly sketching with a medium charcoal pencil quickly gets all the major shapes in the correct places. I have drawn the boat from a direct side on vantage point rather than the slight angle in my photograph.
The background and water were the first washes applied. A cool gray mixed from French Ultramarine, Alizarin and a little Quinacridone Gold (to take the purpleness out of it) was applied at the top of the sky. As I worked my way down a little more Quinacridone Gold and Ultramarine was added to the mixture to suggest the distant fog covered hill.
The water was the same mixture but with slightly more Ultramarine.
These washes were all applied very wet with the 1⁄2 inch bristle brush then gently smoothed out with a dry hake brush.
Once the sky and water had dried, Cadmium red was worked into the area of the hull under the cabin with the 1⁄2 inch bristle brush.
As the red moved towards the bow of the vessel, Cadmium gave way to Alizarin and Permanent rose. I wanted to keep the area of red around the cabin as warm and saturated as possible to attract maximum attention, while the bow would be cooler and more subdued. The lower funnel also received a coat of Cadmium Red then, while it was still damp, a patch of light was lifted out of the front quarter with a clean, damp 1/4 inch one stroke brush.
After the reds had been applied more darks were added. Ultramarine, Alizarin and Quinacridone Gold will combine to make a rich strong dark. The transparency of the Quinacridone Gold stops the mixture becoming muddy.
By shifting the dark mixture between warm and cool the shadows are kept interesting.
Although the 1⁄2 inch bristle brush looks big and cumbersome, it can make surprisingly fine and delicate marks with a bit of practice. The secret is to load the brush fully, then roll it on the palette to make a point. This point can make interesting and reasonably accurate marks.
I like to use this brush as much as possible in the early stages of a painting then, in the final stages, move on to a 1⁄2 or 1⁄4 inch one stroke then finally to a rigger to clarify and define details.
The final step was to refine the details with the rigger brush then build up that rusty patina using Burnt Sienna pigment ink and a dip in pen. Applying a few ink lines then lightly spraying them with a mist of water causes the ink to bleed and feather, leaving a nice organic rusty mark.
The fine rigging lines and antennas were applied with the tip of the rigger brush and a quick sweeping action.
Tip
Spraying the Burnt Sienna ink can be messy and unpredictable. Make sure you have a paper towel handy before applying the ink. The ink dries very quickly, so the mist of water has to be sprayed on a few seconds after making the ink stroke.
Threading these lines around the painting gives the work unity and a loose, weathered character.
Although this painting was done with a very limited palette, using three different reds gave the hull much more character than would have been possible with just a single red. The shift from warm, saturated red under the cabin to a cooler, subdued red at the bow helps draw the eye back to the focal area.
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Author : John Lovett
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