Painting Figures in Situ, Oils.
So often I see difficulties with students struggling to paint figures into landscapes or townscapes. One golden rule is not to treat them any differently to the rest of the work, be just as lose with them. Make sure that they are a coherent part of the painting as much as the trees, sky or water!
In other words that they are not more detailed and stand out like a sore thumb, that the colours and tones relate over all of the work and do not change on the figures. This painting of my daughters was done on site over a period of just over an hour. The day was dull at first which did not help in establishing tones, as it brightened later. The technique that I used for this was to bock in the main tones rapidly after a loose drawing. Then, having established these values, work up the values to darks and highlights outwards with fat over lean paint. Seeking a lively lose impression rather than too much detail, I am not taking a photograph, I am enjoying light, oil paint, the mood and capturing a memory of my girls!
Using a camera obscura can help in choosing a composition (a card frame). The further away you hold it the less you see through it and the closer the more. You can than assess the shapes to fit in the same proportions onto your canvas. You may mark the edge of the card frame with half way and quarters, and the edge of your canvas the same. I just tend to use my fingers to make a square now for speed. Once you have established the composition and proportions, then holding up a pencil or brush at arms length to compare dimensions in the traditional way is fine. Your first two marks denote everything!
One of the many beauties of oil paint is it’s versatility, in this case being able to add lights and darks over mid tones after initial layers of paint.
I tend to use flat long handled nylon brushes for oils in this method, as I work in fast, clean strokes, trying to catch the changing light. I use a broken colour technique or “Impressionist” method which asks the eye to blend many of the colours.
