This painting
was done in the studio from a sketch of an old house above
Sydney Harbour.The way the sandstone stairs twisted up
towards the house appealed to me. They lead the eye nicely up
from the foreground to the centre of interest. The contrast
between the stark blue of the sky and the red roof serves to
focus attention in this area . I’ve also placed the
strongest tonal contrast here. ( the white awning against the
dark window )
PROCEDURE
After first
lightly drawing in pastel pencil a wash of Yellow Ochre was
applied to all but the area of the sky.While this wash was
still wet, various mixtures of Burnt Sienna, Quinacridone
Gold and Ultramarine were introduced where the bushes would
appear. A cool Grey was washed through the area of the fence
and some of the stairs. Warmer Grey was then used to pick out
some of the fence palings, stairs and various details on the
front of the house. The strong darks under the verandah and
in the trees and bushes were made by mixing Quinacridone
Gold, Alizarin Crimson and Ultramarine. They were put in at
this point before the pure Ultramarine wash for the sky was
added. The roof was a mixture of Alizarin and Quinacridone
Gold. Detail in the stone walls was added before Burnt Sienna
ink was used to put in some fine sharp lines. Many of these
lines were softened using a fine spray of water. This
produces beautiful feathered edges and the rich colour helps
give the painting harmony. Finally the sky was worked over
with soft pastel giving a flatness and opacity to contrast
with the transparency of the water colour.
MATERIALS
PALETTE
PAPER
DRAWING
Initial laying
out
was done with a
red brown
Schwan Stabillo
pastel pencil.
Burnt Sienna
waterproof ink
was applied in
the final stages
of the painting
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