Belinda Reynel “Creating Atmosphere in Oils”

At our recent April evening meeting after the  AGM, Belinda gave us an unique demonstration in oils.

This was a welcome return visit and this time she created an atmospheric painting, beginning by applying the paint with a rag!

Hers was a limited pallet of Yellow Ochre, Burnt Sienna, Prussian Blue and Kings Blue (a pale ultramarine).

Belinda, diluted the colour with turps substitute, and rolled the rag into a pad to apply swathes of yellow ochre at first, then blending the other colours across the canvas, with a mix of Prussian and Sienna as the darkest tones. She also used titanium white and  a touch of the other colours mixed with a glazing medium to glaze over the initial layer to subtly knock back the brightness. From this point Belinda utilised both a painting knife, and scraper to apply more colour mixes, including some with cold wax mixed in for texture, before blending again this time with a household paint brush. Final applications with a knife left more crisp marks in the foreground. The finished painting was evocative of perhaps sea and sky, very pleasing and full of atmosphere.