Capturing Color, a demonstration by Lynne Fearman
by Angela Alvarenga
Her landscape was filled with luscious greenery. She put her darkest green down first and used warm greens in the foreground. The hills in the background were brought to life with warm combinations of browns. She chose to paint lighter around the green bushes to make them pop.
Lynne’s paintings are very captivating because she focuses on trying to get the values right and capture the mood. She does not try to copy the photo. Fearman uses watercolor for her sketchbook and enjoys goauche because it works like acrylic. Lastly, she recommends always having a path in your painting to give the viewer a place to go. |
Lynne Fearman gave a magnificent demonstration on how to capture color when painting with oils. She brings life and richness to her landscape with her vibrant choice of colors. Before starting her painting, she encouraged the audience to “allow yourself to fail” and “every failure is a learning experience.” She shared her fun theory that after painting 5,000 paintings you might finally realized you’re learning something. Lynne works in 5 hour painting sessions 5 times a week.
To start off, Lynne tones her canvas with burnt sienna and allows it to "burn through" the sky to keep its warmth. Some tips include indian yellow being great for sunsets, burnt sienna is great with greens, but add red to viridian. Apply your darkest hues first when painting in oil. For the clouds, she never uses pure white but recommends using titanium white with a little indian yellow. It is best to apply the paint on thick and paint against the grain when painting cloudy skies. In order to add a lighter color to a dark, lightly apply the paint like buttering a cake. She also uses a brush fan to blend the colors in the sky. |