Demo by Matt Smith

Once I have a simple line drawing, I lay down several washes for the foreground areas. I had hoped to let some of that show through in the final painting. I kept those washes somewhat neutral here as it’s a winter motif.

Then, I continue with the massing process, as I need to see these shapes in relation to one another and determine if the value and color harmonies work. I recommend you do this before you apply detail in case those harmonies don’t work and you need to adjust them (see left photo).

Next, it is important to get those warm and cool relationships down as that’s a large part of what caught my interest to begin with. The cool notes in the river were so vibrant. Place those against the warm notes so they read even stronger (see right photo).

Now the fine-tuning and finishing work can begin. This is not the final finish but those subtle shifts that will eventually need to be included. Then comes the snow. That’s where the value contrast is so it’s time to lay that down (see photo on right)

Now for the sky and final finish. At this point, those last touches happen over a period of several days or weeks. Layering, detail, glazes, etc.

Then, the final painting is on the right. A fun play on warm and cool centered mainly around the creek. 14”x16 3/8”.

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