Step 1
While on a recent painting trip to England, we spent some time in the Kent area south of London. We stayed near Hever Castle and enjoyed passing by this pub on a daily basis. As usual I did some on location drawings in my sketchbook and completed the painting in my studio.
Step 2
Pencil study done on location in Kent England. I used an 8B pencil in a hardbound travel sketchbook. This is the King Henry VIII Inn and Tavern in the little town of Hever, In Kent England.
Step 3
Using the sketchbook drawing done on location in England, along with my digital photo, I work out the design for my painting in a little “thumbnail’ value study. The photo shows how I work, taping the reference material to my board so I can refer to it as I go.
Step 4
My Arches 140lb paper is soaked in the tub then stapled to a stiff backing board. When dry, I apply masking tape around the edges. Using a 4H pencil I sketch out the painting using light lines. The painting is started with light, loose washes of color. No detail yet.
Step 5
Now I try to catch the feeling of warm versus cool by working in the center of interest. You can see I am establishing the value relationship of darkest darks and lightest lights at this point.
Step 6
Bringing the painting to completion requires a lot more work — probably as much time as the whole painting up to this point. But the hardest part was the research done on location, planning the painting with thumbnail studies, and getting the outline drawing right before I even picked up the brush.