[f2]Hello[] and welcome back. [p1]Are you ready for another mini-lesson?
Now that we've painted both [f2]landscapes[] and [f2]waterscapes[], let's try and combine them!
[a4]Rivers and lakes are often a dramatic feature in the landscape.
They reflect the colour of the [f2]sky[] up from the [f2]earth[]...
...and seem to create a [f2]connection[] between the two.
The English artist [f2]John Constable[] painted this landscape, [f2]The Hay Wain[], in 1821.
Constable was one of the first artists to regularly paint outdoors.
He always wanted to closely [f2]observe nature[] at first hand.
He would use his outdoor studies as the basis for studio-created works like this.
When you begin painting the river, try to [f2]look at the subject[] objectively.
We have seen that a big part of learning to paint is learning [f2]how to look at things[].
So much information reaches our eyes that our minds have a habit of ignoring details.
[a7]This is my painting of the river scene. [p1]Let's have a look at how I did it.
First, I laid out the [f2]basic composition[] with some broad areas of colour.
Next, I built up the [f2]river colours[] in several layers. [p1]Remember the Swan lesson?
I also started to block in the [f2]landscape features[] at this point.
We all know that plants are green, but we forget how many [f2]different shades[] of green.
There are lots of different greens in the picture...
...some not what the word green first brings to mind.
Try mixing [f2]oranges[], [f2]purples[], [f2]blues[] or [f2]yellows[] with green for a wide range of hues.
Look out for [f2]unexpected colours[], too...
...like [f2]dark blue[] in the trees, [f2]orange[] in the grass, subtle [f2]greys[] in the water.
It's often most effective to paint dark tones first, so that's how I began the [f2]trees[].
Then I started to paint the lighter areas on top.
And there you are! [p1]This is the last of our mini-lessons, so good luck and have fun!
Mini-Lesson: River Bank
[b1][i1]Work up in [f2]layers[], blocking in large areas first.[][b1][i1]Look at the various [f2]greens[] in the image and try to paint that variety.[][b1][i1]Remember [f2]aerial perspective[]. Distant objects will look less saturated.[][b1][i1]Look out for [f2]unexpected colours[].[]