Back to basics

Learning to paint is much easier than you might think, once you bring it back to basics. Here's how I brought this painting to life, from blank canvas to the finished product in four steps.

STEP ONE

This is how the painting began; using a thin wash of wax medium and Burnt Umber to cover most of the canvas.

STEP TWO

I used Transparent Red Oxide glazing in the rich, warm colours. The extremely colourful cardigan was a mixture of Quinacridone Magenta, Alizarin Crimson and White.

STEP THREE

Here I filled in a little more detail all over and made a few changes to add atmosphere. I decided to shorten the last log as it was far too long.

STEP FOUR

The final steps were to add in the misty background, detail the grass in the foreground. The finishing touch; I added in a Monarch Butterfly.