Moving into the foreground I create a sense of depth by overlapping the shapes in the field giving the viewer a path to follow back to my subject.

From my reference photo taken on location, I do a quick sketch to decide on the value patterns and design for the painting.

A 3″ x 5″ rough pencil sketch gives me a plan for my values.

The finished painting.

I can’t resist the drama of an old English Church Steeple rising out of quiet village. Although I took some artistic liberties, this painting reflects a scene I enjoyed in Hawes, deep in [...]

I almost always start with the sky in a painting. I am using a wet in wet technique to allow the colors to blend naturally, leaving white areas of the paper to show through creating the cloud shapes.

Basic washes of lighter values are now laid in to establish the overall shapes of the church and tree.