Preserving The Traditions of The Masters: Master Class Program Studio Landscape With Structures Intro

MASTER CLASS PROGRAM
Studio Landscape with Structures

Intro
O VERV IE W
General guidelines and procedures
Studio painting is most generally associated with works possessing both a high degree of finish and
massive amounts of detail. Although this is often true, we will be more concerned here with your choice
of a reference photo... meaning one possessing of a single strong center of interest and in most cases a
clearly identifiable light source to produce shadows. Light is important in that we cannot define form
without it. There are exceptions of course. Among them are rainy, snowy, or foggy situations that can
be visually captivating, provided there are interesting silhouettes to hold our interest. In addition, they
all must be compositionally solid and relatively simple...as too many scattered elements are a very real
problem for the viewer.
My approach to all painting is to break down the scene into a small number of interesting and usually
overlapping zones. This holds as true for studio paintings as it does for plein air...where it originally
arose for me as a mandatory step to a successful piece. Overlap is a fundamental tool to place elements
clearly in front of or behind others in the scene. In addition, overlap (among other devices), links our
elements together...avoiding a scattered appearance. The online course in Composition an Staging will
be very useful in using overlap, motifs and many other tools.
Once we have very simply outlined the various zones, the next stage is to get that pattern of shapes
onto a small canvas (usually very lightly in a shade of Burnt Sienna), and stain these zones with color
to roughly represent the average tint and value for each. What this means is to see a value and color
for...say a line of distant trees and lay a thinned stain representing a shade between the lightest light
and the darkest dark. Most elements will be largely this average color and value with only small touches
of light and dark. Keep shapes random and few in number when adding these highlights and accents,
and above all not a scattering of spots. As an example, you may see dozens of darker spots in a tree's
silhouette, but settle for three or five varied shapes of very different sizes. Do not forget to have some
of these actually join and with a few softer edges.
Only one scene was developed into a larger finished piece, all the rest were studies at an 11" x 14" size.
One of the most difficult tasks is to match not only your study colors, but to fill a similar but larger
shape in the finish with additional strokes, without losing its original freshness and power. The fore-
ground dry foliage in the Taos scene is a clear example of the difficulty involved in achieving this!
There is no course, unless taken for years on end with a good instructor, that can teach you to become
a great painter. There are, however, many procedures, cautionary notes and reminders that can hasten
the progress.
Preserving the Traditions of the Masters

© Watts Atelier of the Arts, LLC, 2013 www.wattsatelier.com 1
Simple Zones
The zones on the right are overlaid on a black and

white version with a few minor changes...especially
on the rear wooded hill. Note the gap added!
Similar to above...changes in shape and size have

been made to the tree zones, all else is straight-
forward simplification.
Modifications have been made mainly to the fore-

ground foliage and the shape of the path on the left
and right of it. The fence was changed to lead better
toward the barn.

Staining the Zones
Materials List Canvas panels 11”x14”, 16”x20”

Bristle Flats 1, 2, 4, 6... 2-each
Titanium White (not soft formula) large tube
Cadmium Orange (Gamblin)
Cadmium Yellow Light (Gamblin)
Ultramarine Blue
Pthalo Green (Gamblin)
Alizarin Crimson
Weber odorless thinner
This short list along with good lighting and a comfortable

angle for your canvas (a French easel with the legs in
stowed position resting on a flat surface with the canvas
holder tilted up works well). Consider buying an inexpen-
sive frame with a flat backside and face it backside toward
you...insert your canvas in the frame and clamp the frame
into your easel or on a tilted drawing board. This will allow
you to paint all the way to all edges without interference.
White Duct tape on the frame backside will allow you to
wipe off paint for a clean look.
The examples on the right demonstrate the concept of

defining simple zones by drawing with a #1 flat (using a
small amount of Burnt Sienna)…wipe off excess from the
brush. Casually fill each of the zones with a thin stain of
the average color. Avoid using white...use thinner to achieve
a lighter value of your mixture. White has the effect of
cooling any color it is mixed with. Burnt Sienna can be
had by mixing orange-Alizarin and a tiny bit of Pthalo
Green. Experiment with different quantities of each until
you get a feeling for the shade you prefer...not too red.
The first example is very simple, but well composed with

simple thin and unsaturated color. The road is a thin
orange which appears as cream. The second and third are
more complex. A random assortment of tree trunks were
added (also using the Burnt Sienna). Of major importance
is the randomness of the overall silhouette of each of the
zones. This is derived from the reference by omitting small
scattered details along edges and even exaggerating a bit
the lean or tilt of a tree for poetic effect. Keep clouds sim-
ple or nonexistent if the foreground is complex. A mastery
of thinking simple will improve your work enormously.

Staining the Zones
I have included additional examples of quick demo paintings

that all utilize the zone defined method I have been speaking
about. The examples differ in one important way in that they
all are pictured at a state when thicker paint has been
applied...just subsequent to the last images where stains are
all that has been applied.
The emphasis is clearly upon middle values although a few

accents (darks) have been added. The most important tips I
can give at the stage where more opaque paint is being
applied are as follows:
spot... as the last thing you want is a huge area

covered with an incorrect color.
goal to apply a stroke only once and add the next...

remember if some of the stain below still shows that
is okay and even preferred, as it makes a passage
more interesting to the eye.
decide where you want a stroke to go and put it there

with careful conviction. Keep reloading your brush!
slight changes in temperature or value. It is also

very important to not apply all strokes in the same
direction. Study these examples in this regard.
or squeeze them with stronger adjacent colors. What

I mean by this is: apply the warm light cloud colors
to the entire cloud zone first, then apply the darker
(blue perhaps) sky around and cutting into it where
necessary to achieve the exact desired shape. Paint
the slightly darker lower sides next and the light
cloud color will lighten and soften your darker
strokes as they are applied. This approach produces
soft transitions that are difficult to otherwise
strokes and keep it simple and direct in appearance.

This approach works for all other objects and colors
as well.

Adding Opaque Paint
The first of these is similar to the last three but a bit more
complex. The lighting here is a gray day with consequently
soft shadows. Shapes must be attractive in these conditions
as there is little else (apart from overall composition) to
entertain us. The colors are applied deliberately at this stage
with little concern for complete coverage of the stains...let
them show through a bit. Colors here are quickly losing
their saturation and value as they recede, with the most dis-
tant hill becoming lighter still as it sinks behind the middle-
ground hill. As with the other referenced images...studying
them closely will provide additional information.
In the seascape on the right a couple of sets of waves are

tumbling toward a sandy flat beach (out of sight behind us).
Note the still visible zones here done in Burnt Sienna for
clarity (you might wish to use a light blue in actual practice
for waves).
Light blue stains for the calm water between waves are put
in first, along with a slightly less blue stain for the sky. The
whites (with a touch of orange) are laid in thickly next.
Slightly darker blue is placed over the existing water stain to
achieve the look you see here. In the foreground that blue is
less dark as the near water has a lot of foam in it. These
strokes are apparent and are fairly long and simple and
placed in such a way as to make the lighter blue seem all
connected...as foam. The light blue soft shadows in the
breaking waves are done with a pale blue and with quick
simple strokes...the cream will further lighten the blue as
you apply the stroke. I decided to include these two sea-
scapes to give you some idea how versatile the zone concept
is, along with some basic pointers.
The sea blue is a different hue, but the white is painted first,
much as before. Always paint in more white than actually
needed and carve or squeeze it to your final shape. The fore-
ground light shape started simple and was carved and
painted into as shown to produce a complicated final result.
The rocks were stained early, but opaque browns were added
after the crashing wave was complete.

Taos Shed Series
Taos Shed Study / Stages and Procedures
As with all of the studies, a simplified drawing representing

the zones of the scene are first drawn on tracing paper over
the photo... simplifying and modifying as required to clarify
or improve sizes and overall composition. Try to work from
simple photos with as few overall problems as possible to
begin with. I have included original photos and finished
painting for this, another barn and the railroad bridge study
you saw earlier in the video.
The next step as shown, is to draw the same zones lightly

in Burnt Sienna with a small stiff bristle brush. Fill in the
shadowed areas darkly as shown, as it is important to get
the full weight of the tonal plan down early. You can trans-
fer these zone boundaries down from your original tracing
paper. You can make or buy graphite transfer sheets. This
gives you an exact copy.
I would recommend that you do at least one of studies in

the video before trying the new barn assignment...even
though you have a copy of the finished painting I did on
that spot. You will notice that my idea of a finished studio
painting is more impressionistic than many.
In image three those same zones have been thinly filled

with the average color and value we see in the source photo.
There is of course some latitude for your personal prefer-
ences of color and value. Do not deviate radically however
as the results can change to such a degree that you are just
‘faking it’ and the photo is no longer of value. Note that the
full value darks are in place already, and the simple invented
cloud represents our lightest light. The soil color is basically
a very thinned Cadmium Orange with no white added. Notice
that there are a very few darker areas in the dry sagebrush to
give a sense of form...but they are fairly subtle, and a trace
of the original Burnt Sienna zone outline remains softly
visible. The sky is a very thin stain of Ultramarine with a
touch of Pthalo green to warm it.

Taos Shed Series
Taos Shed Study / Stages and Procedures
The bulk of the work in this frame is on the barn where

the roof and near end are getting some details and a bit
heavier paint added. The rafter tails have had highlights
added using a pale cream...white/orange mix. This is
also used for light areas on the roof.
In this frame the same cream has been used thickly to

fill in the cloud with the slightest bit of blue to delicately
shade in its darker lower side. It is wise to paint the cloud
all the way to the ground with the cream before painting
back in with the light blue. The darker bottom should be
very subtle.
The illusion of a few details (straight lines in various

shades) in the shadows and a few nicks of a bit lighter
value randomly placed.
This frame shows the completed painting with a few more

medium grey-greens added to the lightly shadowed areas
of the foreground and just a few even darker spots as
shown. The soil is now painted in using a light white/orange
mixture with bold stroke and ample paint. The fences and
power poles are added with the lines (use a straightedge
and use a light value grey). The blue-grey green on the
distant hilltop gets a few ever-so-slightly lighter and darker
strokes, and the slope a bit of thicker light orange-white
paint...add just a bit of light blue-grey-green to this orange
so it doesn’t appear too orange.
You have a photo of this painting for closer examination.

Bridge Series
Bridge Study / Stages and procedures
Here is a rough step-by-step starting with the zone drawing

showing the simple breakdown of the photo reference. It is
followed by transferring of this zone image onto the canvas
(I recommend panels as they receive transferred images
better than a stretched canvas, which has some give). This
image is then drawn over using a#1 flat with a small amount
of Burnt Sienna on it...upon the canvas. This color is pleas-
ant as a show-through color in the finished piece as it seems
to complement nearly every other color. In plein air you
would do the same thing, except you do not draw it first in
pencil…but draw from the live environment. This obviously
requires considerable drawing and seeing ability from the
artist, but the freshness of the result is achievable in no
other way.
The next step is to apply the average color to the foliage and
staying a bit to the warmer and lighter side, with the excep-
tion of the darker shadowed group on the right. Shadowed
areas under the bridge are also added, along with the yellow
signs. None of these applications contain white and all are
applied with a bit of paint thinner for a transparent stain
look.

Bridge Series
Bridge Study / Stages and procedures
Here we are beginning to add the darker passages in the

distant wooded hill. Note that the countless darker areas
have been reduced to just a few with mostly soft edges.
We are still using just a touch of thinner for these areas.
In the sky we are using a bit of white with our colors for
opacity. The color ranges from a pale blue on the left to
a warm cream color on the right nearest the location of
the sun light source. It is best to mix the cream and apply
it first all the way across the sky and then mix a pale blue
and paint back into the cream sky starting at the left and
just let the cream eat up your blue as you move across.
This is much more effective and easier than mixing a
series of hues across the sky one at a time. The reason we
started with cream is that it is a more fragile color. Some
leafless branches are added as shown for interest and
variety.
The bridge receives a warm darker to lighter transition

and a series of warm verticals (not too dark) along with
saturated yellow-orange for the sign. See the reference
and finish for rust and weathering...do not overdo this!
Foreground foliage receives opaque yellow greens (some
white is in the mixture for most colors from here on...
except darks). Using thick, warm, opaque whites... clean
up the lighted concrete areas of the bridge and darken
the shadowed areas as shown. By doing the lighted steps
on this wall first...it is possible to ‘carve’ them to a cleaner
edge using the darker shadowed concrete color. This is a
technique that allows thin or crisp lights to be achieved by
‘squeezing’ them with a slowly applied stroke of a darker
hue. The yellow signs are all painted first and the diagonal
stripes are added on top using a metal edged ruler to slide
the metal ferrule of the brush along and keep them straight.
The yellow center line is best painted first before applying
the pale warm paving color...using the same ‘squeezing’
method just outlined. Warm to slightly cooler grays are
added to the near roadside and a few patches of weeds as
seen here. Note the warm cream area at road edge. Study
the finish demo painting carefully for additional details
and stroke character.

Ramona Barn Assignment
Assignment Painting – Ramona Barn
Now that you have copied the procedure and viewed at

least one of the demo paintings done in the video, it is
time to embark on a subject you have not actually seen
painted step-by-step. You do at least have the advantage
of a finish painting to study that was done from the actual
barn on site. You will note slight changes in proportion
and slope of the hillside and numerous other small chan-
ges that I felt improved the overall composition and its
staging on the canvas.
A very noticeable change is that the canvas is a bit more

horizontal than the reference photo.
Other changes to note:
lower portion.
with some vertical Italian Cypress and no clearly

identifiable structure at the top.
in shape and size.
with the composition better. Note the accelerated

size difference in the fence posts as they come
toward us, and their random lean out-of-vertical.
lighter in value.
some Pthalo Green mixed together (without any
will produce colorful blacks whenever you need

them.
for guidance and study of: colors, values and strokes.

Taos Shed Reference and Finish

Bridge Reference and Finish

Ramona Barn Reference and Finish


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MASTER CLASS PROGRAM

Studio Landscape with Structures

Preserving the Traditions of the Masters

The zones on the right are overlaid on a black and

Similar to above...changes in shape and size have

Modifications have been made mainly to the fore-

Preserving the Traditions of the Masters

Materials List Canvas panels 11”x14”, 16”x20”

This short list along with good lighting and a comfortable

The examples on the right demonstrate the concept of

The first example is very simple, but well composed with

Preserving the Traditions of the Masters

I have included additional examples of quick demo paintings

The emphasis is clearly upon middle values although a few

spot... as the last thing you want is a huge area

goal to apply a stroke only once and add the next...

decide where you want a stroke to go and put it there

slight changes in temperature or value. It is also

or squeeze them with stronger adjacent colors. What

strokes and keep it simple and direct in appearance.

Preserving the Traditions of the Masters

In the seascape on the right a couple of sets of waves are

Preserving the Traditions of the Masters

Taos Shed Study / Stages and Procedures

As with all of the studies, a simplified drawing representing

The next step as shown, is to draw the same zones lightly

I would recommend that you do at least one of studies in

In image three those same zones have been thinly filled

Preserving the Traditions of the Masters

Taos Shed Study / Stages and Procedures

The bulk of the work in this frame is on the barn where

In this frame the same cream has been used thickly to

The illusion of a few details (straight lines in various

This frame shows the completed painting with a few more

You have a photo of this painting for closer examination.

Preserving the Traditions of the Masters

Bridge Study / Stages and procedures

Here is a rough step-by-step starting with the zone drawing

Preserving the Traditions of the Masters

Bridge Study / Stages and procedures

Here we are beginning to add the darker passages in the

The bridge receives a warm darker to lighter transition

Preserving the Traditions of the Masters

Assignment Painting – Ramona Barn

Now that you have copied the procedure and viewed at

A very noticeable change is that the canvas is a bit more

Other changes to note:

with some vertical Italian Cypress and no clearly

in shape and size.

with the composition better. Note the accelerated

some Pthalo Green mixed together (without any

will produce colorful blacks whenever you need

for guidance and study of: colors, values and strokes.

Preserving the Traditions of the Masters

Preserving the Traditions of the Masters

Preserving the Traditions of the Masters

Preserving the Traditions of the Masters

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