Impressionism - Paint this Venice painting in oil or acrylic

I will explain the necessity of doing this preliminary drawing study before the painting begins. I will explain how this process directly relates to the underpainting process.

I will explain the concepts of drawing and values.

I will explain why I use charcoal for this exercise.

Using willow/vine charcoal, I will lay in our middle value.

I will then lay in a simple line drawing of our whole scene, grouping everything into the largest shapes possible.

I will draw in the darkest values of the scene, explaining how to group values into large shapes.

I will draw in the lightest values of the scene using the rubber kneaded eraser, explaining how to group values into large shapes.

I will explain the concept of "drawing with light"

Download this PDF to review the key points to focus on when doing your preliminary drawing study. There is also the finished drawing for your reference.

I will explain what an underpainting is, and why it is crucial to building a painting.

I will discuss the simplified color palette we select for our underpainting

I will paint in the first layer of color, and explain the concepts of setting up your motif of light-to-dark and warm-to-cool.

I then lay in a simple line drawing, grouping the scene into the largest shapes possible.

I will touch on the concept of color temperature.

I will paint in the darkest values of the scene, explaining how to group values into large shapes.

I will paint in the lightest values of the scene using a paper towel and solvent, explaining how to group values into large shapes.

I will also discuss the concept of "painting with light".

Bonus video! Here I actually show you how to clean up your palette when your mixing area becomes too crowded. I also discuss the importance of this step, and why it needs to be done a few times during your painting. I also talk about the materials I'm using that help facilitate this step.

Download this PDF to review the key points to focus on when doing your underpainting. Also provide is an image of the underpainting for your reference.

I will begin the next stage of adding opaque paint over the underpainting.

I will discuss the larger color palette you now use for this stage

I will discuss the back-to-front concept of the order in which you build the painting.

I will continue building the painting one section at a time, explaining my process throughout.

In this section I paint the buildings on the left side.

I will continue building the painting one section at a time, explaining my process throughout.

In this section I just about finish the details of the buildings on the left side

I will continue building the painting one section at a time, explaining my process throughout.

In this section I finish the left side buildings and move on to the buildings on the right side.

I will continue building the painting one section at a time, explaining my process throughout.

In this section I finish the buildings on the right side, then paint the bridge.

I will continue building the painting one section at a time, explaining my process throughout.

In this section I paint the boats in the foreground.

I will continue building the painting one section at a time, explaining my process throughout.

In this section I paint most of the water section.

I will continue building the painting one section at a time, explaining my process throughout.

In this section I finish the water by adding details and reflections.

Download this PDF to read some helpful tips for doing your opaque painting.

After the painting has mostly dried, I will add finishing touches such as atmosphere, light, or any additional elements. This stage is usually pretty subtle, but just adds that extra oomph.

I will summarize the painting process in the context of the painting we just finished.

Also included is a PDF flipbook showing each stage of the painting (look in the "Downloadable Resources" tab)