Learn Unique Oil Painting technique while Exploring Nature: Master the Spring Thunderstorm Sketching Class

Hello, my dear followers!

I offer to your attention my new work «Spring thunderstorm». And if there are often downpours and thunderstorms in your region and this subject is close to you, I encourage you to paint the picture together with me. Today we will use somewhat of a new unique and uncomplicated oil painting technique. We will paint the vivid and expressive picture. And along with the living and expressive colors we will use equally «fleshy» pastous brush strokes. The result will be the beautiful textured painting that will look as if it is weaved of many oil paint glassy shreds.

If I have managed to intrigue you, please, watch the video, read the text below and begin creating your own field under the troubled sky. This is an easy and interesting oil painting lesson for beginners.

So, let’s prepare the canvas, paints and the rest…

materials for art lesson:

• I have used the cotton, close texture 30х40 cm canvas for my canvas painting.
• Oil paints:
• White;
• Sky Blue;
• Prussian Blue;
• Ultramarin;
• Turquoise Blue;
• Lake Pigment Red Strong;
• Cadmium Yellow Medium;
• Cadmium Lemon;
• Ochre Gold;
• Mars Brown Deep;
• Olive green;
• Lamp Black.
• Also you will need:
• flax seed oil;
• wiper;
• palette knife.

After having prepared all this we can set about the work and

start our online painting lesson:

1. Press the flax seed oil out on the clean and dry wiper, then oil the canvas (I have transferred the flax seed oil to the empty white glue tube, so it is very convenient to control the amount of oil which is poured into the paint). Wipe the canvas: it should be almost dry and just a little bit greasy because of the oil, but the oil shouldn’t be glossy on the canvas surface and, of course, shouldn’t flow down it.

2. After you have moistened the canvas, make a sketch. As far as it is almost impossible to use pencil, do it with the thin brush using one of the neutral paints for this subject.

3. Here the important interesting moment comes – the white should be kneaded following a special recipe. There is already the certain amount of white on our palette (already stirred with the palette knife). Add a bit of flax seed oil there; mix the white and the oil carefully until it has become softer and little more fluid. Afterwards we will immix all the paints with this «special» white. And if this white is up, you should knead a bit more. I have pressed approximately 1015 cm band of white out of the tube for the painting of 30х49 size.

4. Now let’s work with the sky. Mix the white with all shades of blue that you have on your palette and make different gradations (darker and lighter). You should keep close to those shades which we need in our work.

5. Lay the paint straight on the canvas with the help of the palette knife (the small one, I use No61), do not use any paint thinner. Apply the accurate pastous brush strokes.

6. Then fill in the skyline, I mean the trees that are seen far away. In order to do this, mix White+ Prussian Blue+Olive green. «Worm» the paint into the canvas using the palette knife with the fine edge and making vertical wiggly movements.

7. Let’s sketch out the house. As long as the house is placed far away and is very small – do it with the thin round brush. Make the wall which is exposed to the light almost white, the wall which is in the shade – White+Blue, the roof – Lake Pigment Red Strong. Hint at the windows and the chimney using darker paint.

8. Mix the different yellow shade variations for the rapeseed field:

• Cadmium Yellow Medium + White;
• Cadmium Lemon +White;
• Cadmium Lemon + White + Olive green;
• Cadmium Lemon + White + Ochre Gold;
• Cadmium Lemon + White + Mars Brown Deep;
• Cadmium Yellow Medium + White + Mars Brown Deep + Olive green;
• and so on.

We will use these shades in order to paint the bright rapeseed field under the troubled sky. Most of all we will use the mix of White and Cadmium Lemon, because this color is the most appropriate for the color of these flowers. Apply the brush strokes almost horizontally using the palette knife.

9. Paint the road using the dark shades of Mars Brown Deep, Olive green and Prussian Blue.

10. Draw the foreground – dip the palette knife into the green and paint the haulms of the rapeseed flowers bent with the wind, then put the small dots with one of the yellow shades around them – the flowers itself. You should paint them pastous enough so that they will show up on the general background and its glacier texture. (Maybe some of you don’t know how the plant and the rapeseed flowers look, so here is the photo to make it clear.)
Correct everything that offends the eye. Model the shape of the thundercloud, the direction of the brush strokes on the field and so on.

In fact that is all. Our painting is ready and our painting art lesson is over.
I wish you good luck and new success in your creative work!

Leave comments and send your works.