LIQUITEX OCEAN CLIFF PAINTING

INSTRUCTIONS

Step 1 - Paint the entire canvas in Quinacridone Red and Yellow Azo Medium mixed to make a thin transparent warm pink-orange. Thin down with Gloss Medium (also known as Gloss Medium and Varnish). Allow to dry.

Step 2 - Draw up the main shapes using a pencil or a thin brush with some transparent burnt sienna ink (or heavy body paint).

Step 3 - Add texture to the cliff by using paint and mediums (flexible modelling paste, ceramic stucco) mixed with some paint colour and use the ceramic stucco by itself. Build texture and show shapes with the texture mediums. You can add more colour on top of these later. Leave some of the base underpainting colour showing through some of the gaps in texture. Use palette knife for medium application.

Cliff shadow colours - Ultramarine Blue and Alizarin Crimson Hue

Cliff Light colours - Light Portrait Pink, Titanium White and Raw sienna together, Ultramarine & quinacridone Red with white to make a mid-purple. Burnt Sienna.

Note - Do not add the greens at the top yet, paint the sky first.

Step 4 - For the Sky, use gloss medium (& varnish) with paint colours - Titanium White, Ultramarine (red shade), Paynes Grey, Yellow Azo Medium, Light Portrait Pink.

Use the paint thinly where the sky meets the mountains as this will let some of the underpainting colour show through. Leave some room for the trees, do not paint the sky completely over where the trees on the cliff will be - instead paint sky only where the trees may overlap sky.

Sky on horizon right is titanium white with a touch of yellow azo medium. Warm this mix up slightly with portrait pink and blend up towards mixing in ultramarine and white together. Top left sky - paynes grey and white and ultramarine mixed in various amounts and blended into the ultramarine & titanium mix. Soften or make a gentle blue-purple grey by adding light portrait pink.

Step 5 - Mountain in background right. Thin ultramarine and Alizarin Crimson Hue. You will add suggestions of green thinly later.

Step 6 -Paint the ocean using Turquoise Deep, Cobalt Teal, Ultramarine, Phthalo Blue (green shade), Titanium White and Light Blue Violet. Use these colours with matte gel and apply with brush and then with a palette knife for texture. Do not cover the bottom of the painting where the bush and flowers will be, add ocean where you know the bush will overlap the ocean in parts.

Step 7 - For the scrub and trees on the cliff, use greens, browns, purples (ultramarine & alizarin) and blues to create trees and shadows. Mix your own greens using the yellows and blues. Mute (soften) greens by adding a touch of red for background greens that need to be less bright.

Step 8 - Now focusing on the foreground, use a wide range of colours.

Begin with some darker colours to add depth and dimension to your bushes. Use a range of browns, light portrait pink for the bare branches.

If the ocean is too wet to do this wait till it is dry. Once the darker colours are dry add lighter and brighter textured colour by using the heavy body by itself thickly or with either the flexible modelling paste or matte gel. The opaque colours will sit well on top of the darker colours: cad yellow medium (&/or cad yellow light), cobalt teal, light blue violet, light portrait pink, burnt sienna, chromium oxide green, raw sienna, titanium white (mixed with any colour will make a lighter and opaque version of any colour).

Step 9 - Once the cliffs are dry, gently dry brush over the texture with a contrasting colour. For example, the colour painted with ceramic stucco is light portrait pink and it is dried. Enhance the texture further by lightly brushing over light blue violet or burnt sienna with white gently.

Step 10 - Gently apply a little green to the background mountain headland top right.

Step 11- Check your work and apply any further details you think are the finishing touches.