The lanterns are sketched on a canvas of 40 x 50 with a pencil. Once the sketch is satisfactory, the pencil lines are made as thin as possible with kneaded eraser. You can also trace them with thin paint or sepia pencil, and then erase the pencil lines. It's better not to leave graphite pencil lines on your canvas or paper. They dissolve in the paint and create smudgy spots. The canvas is painted with a combination of Naples Yellow (Amsterdam), Ochre (Amsterdam), and Titanium White (Amsterdam). The center is left almost white. That's where the light falls. The lanterns are reserved.
Then, a first layer for the lanterns is applied. For the two red lanterns, mainly Azo Red Deep (Amsterdam), Cadmium Orange (Van Gogh), Azo Yellow Deep (Amsterdam), and Naples Yellow are used. The browner lanterns are mainly painted with Ochre Yellow, Burnt Umber (Amsterdam), and Naples Yellow. No details are applied yet. At this point, only turpentine (not turpentine) or Sansodor is used as a medium. |
| In the next phase, shadows are applied under the lanterns with a combination of Permanent Violet Medium (Rembrandt) and Ultramarine Deep (Rembrandt), combined with Burnt Umber. The edges of the work are also darkened with heavily diluted paint. A medium consisting of a half-and-half mixture of turpentine and linseed oil is used. |
| Now, the lanterns are further developed. The same colors as in the previous phase are used. The two red flowers and the brownish flower at the top left are already quite developed. You can clearly see the difference with the two light brown ones that have not been worked on yet. Details are now being applied.. |
| The shadows are very important to make the lanterns look rounded. The stems are not painted yet. Work on the lanterns one by one and if you are right-handed, work from left to right, and if you are left-handed, work from right to left, so you don't accidentally damage your own work. A painting stick is very handy now. You can hold it with one hand and support it with the hand you paint with when adding details. |
| Here, all the flowers are worked on, but the stems are not painted yet. You can clearly see the difference in spatiality with the next phase where the stems are painted. |
| In the final phase, a very light wood grain is applied. This is done again with heavily diluted Burnt Umber and Ochre Yellow. The shadows under the lanterns are further developed. This is done with a combination of Permanent Violet Medium and Ultramarine Deep, combined with Burnt Umber. Finally, the stems are painted, and of course, the shadows they cast on the wood. The stems are painted with a combination of the colors used in the lanterns. The shadows again with the same color combination as the other shadows. |
Although I already have some theoretical knowledge of oil painting, I have only worked with it twice before. So, it's time for a project in oil paint. I have some dried Chinese lantern flowers. From these, I create a composition, which is photographed. I can take the photo with me if I paint somewhere else, and if someone accidentally changes the composition, I have the photo as a reference.
The lanterns are sketched on a canvas of 40 x 50 with a pencil. Once the sketch is satisfactory, the pencil lines are made as thin as possible with kneaded eraser. You can also trace them with thin paint or sepia pencil, and then erase the pencil lines. It's better not to leave graphite pencil lines on your canvas or paper. They dissolve in the paint and create smudgy spots. The canvas is painted with a combination of Naples Yellow (Amsterdam), Ochre (Amsterdam), and Titanium White (Amsterdam). The center is left almost white. That's where the light falls. The lanterns are reserved.
In the next phase, shadows are applied under the lanterns with a combination of Permanent Violet Medium (Rembrandt) and Ultramarine Deep (Rembrandt), combined with Burnt Umber. The edges of the work are also darkened with heavily diluted paint. A medium consisting of a half-and-half mixture of turpentine and linseed oil is used.
Now, the lanterns are further developed. The same colors as in the previous phase are used. The two red flowers and the brownish flower at the top left are already quite developed. You can clearly see the difference with the two light brown ones that have not been worked on yet. Details are now being applied..
The shadows are very important to make the lanterns look rounded. The stems are not painted yet. Work on the lanterns one by one and if you are right-handed, work from left to right, and if you are left-handed, work from right to left, so you don't accidentally damage your own work. A painting stick is very handy now. You can hold it with one hand and support it with the hand you paint with when adding details.
Here, all the flowers are worked on, but the stems are not painted yet. You can clearly see the difference in spatiality with the next phase where the stems are painted.
In the final phase, a very light wood grain is applied. This is done again with heavily diluted Burnt Umber and Ochre Yellow. The shadows under the lanterns are further developed. This is done with a combination of Permanent Violet Medium and Ultramarine Deep, combined with Burnt Umber. Finally, the stems are painted, and of course, the shadows they cast on the wood. The stems are painted with a combination of the colors used in the lanterns. The shadows again with the same color combination as the other shadows.