Watch our slide show to see Angelo's lively demo!

 

There was a good turnout for the ever popular Angelo. He started with a large board primed with a mix of white gesso with sand and sawdust for texture. His reference was a photo plus a pen and ink sketch, done on site. He explained how he was going to set out the composition as a wide foreground with buildings either side. He proceeded to paint the horizon using a watery yellow acrylic and began to put in outlines with Payne’s grey. After this, buildings were blocked in using ‘scrubby’ brushstrokes in a dark tone with some red outlines to add interest and suggest perspective. Referring frequently to the sketch, he added parked cars and some green on the distant horizon, keeping the tones quite dark.

 

Using a thick white acrylic, with some yellow added, he painted the sky behind the buildings and put a mid blue tone at the top of the sky. He covered the unpainted foreground with a watery yellow ochre mixed with red, using a large, wide brush. Some dark directional lines were added to lead the eye into the picture. Deciding the foreground was too open, he painted in a figure on the right. The buildings were tackled next, using light and dark marks to build up a tonal base.

 

Angelo explained the colours he was using did not have to represent what was there, but successive layers of paint could alter the colour if necessary. He also mentioned he did not like to concentrate on one area for too long, and frequently moved around the painting. He changed to a smaller brush for painting the windows and smaller details, and also used it for adding small tonal marks in order to give an impressionistic feel. He stood back from the painting every so often to check perspective and scale. He put turquoise into the sky and manipulated it to give an impasto effect, then added more white to it. This sky colour was then reflected in the water of the creek.  The  figure was given a shadowy effect with dry brushstrokes and some cerulean blue added to the clothing to give some form.

 

After a short interval, Angelo began to ‘tidy up’ and link the various elements together. He used a blue/purple to darken some shadow areas and dry brushed white on some places to lift them, but still allowing the under colours to show through. A yellow and white mix was brushed across the road in the foreground, to give texture and contrast to the shadows there. Pink was added to the sky behind the buildings and then in the foreground, which linked to the colour in the building on the right. A touch of bright pink was also added as a highlight to the back of the red car. Finally, a mix of Indian ink and acrylic was used to add marks where Angelo felt the drawing element of the painting had been lost.

 

It was a very successful evening enjoyed by all, thanks to Angelo!