Painting Apple Blossoms

A layer of darks are blended into the grass to soften the lights. Deep blues and purples are roughed into the tree blossoms. The challenge will be to soften that look into apple blossoms.

Orange Dances In The Orchard & Evergreens

Orange is a really important color in a landscape. Look for the oranges amongst the trees. All the sudden, the painting really starts to pop.

Blossoms bloom on the trees in layers of light and dark.

The background is soft while the grass and trees are still in the rough stage. Time to soften them up too. Do you see the orange dancing throughout the trees? Check out others in my portfolio.

3D! Painting Light & Shadow On the Grass

Once the orchard tree trunks are painted, another layer of pastel colored acrylic mixed with matte medium is scrubbed onto the grass to form highlights between trees.

More highlights.

Then back to shadows and air. My favorite part is putting air into paintings.

See other work on my website portfolio.

Adding Air, Light & Tree Trunks To Painting-The Orchard

Adding air in the evergreens is a delicate process of pale pastel colored acrylic paint thinned with matte medium. Apply a touch of paint on the paintbrush and scrub. This technique raises havoc with your brushes but the result is awesome.

Tree trunks are added with more light placed amongst the branches.

Now that the trees are in, time for light to play on the grass. Another Saturday and its time to paint across the alley from the Farmers Market. This experience is turning out to be quite fun. See more examples of finished work on my portfolio.

I See Evergreens, Now for The Orchard in Bloom

My portfolio is growing over the next two months.

Now for the layers for trees in bloom. Does it look like trees in bloom yet to you?

Next time...tree trunks. This painting is shaping up nicely. Lots more layers to go.

The Making of the Orchard Painting Takes To The Streets

The first layer is abstract, pastel chalk with matte medium, a foundation of bright rich color. Then comes the second layer using acrylic thinned with matte medium. I use the paints that are most translucent.

Every Saturday during the summer, the Farmers Market sets up just outside the back door of our studio space so we decide to take the painting to the streets each weekend for all to see the process.

I came up with the idea of painting BIG! It is absolutely a blast. Harmony came up with the idea of painting outside right across the alley from the Farmer's Market. (Marybeth, who you meet a few postings ago) is taking the picture.

The Orchard-painting in layers

This is the second layer to what will become an orchard scene.