Notice that it’s an ochre-y brown that appears rosy in its own midtones and cream in its lightest areas. Take a few minutes to carefully study demo-painting #1’s base layer (above). In the two paintings in Kirk’s video, the color of the initial layer of midtone paint creates depth and luminosity as it plays off layers added later. While many viewers may not be aware that they’re seeing multiple colors visible through the top layer, this is what gives the optical illusion of vibrant three-dimensionality. Even though my brushstrokes are generally very flat (never thick like Kirk’s palette knife application), the layering of color is what creates three-dimensional appearance. In my own realistic painting, layering of color is one of my two or three most important tools. It’s part of the artist’s magic that Kirk’s first random brushstrokes seem to have fallen in exactly the right places to form both the large, detailed foreground tree and the hazier background foliage. Painting #1: Kirk applies the midtone base. The heavier, more intensely-colored bits of paint in these areas evoke leaves and the sheen of sunlight across the grass. Kirk explains that when he uses the palette knife, he’s applying thicker paint to make the tree and grass highlights more luminous, to give them texture and body. We’ll talk more about this and another technique after you watch the video. As you watch the video the first time, observe that he uses a palette knife at certain points rather than a paintbrush.
I want to draw your attention to a couple of the techniques Kirk draws on in his demo. (See end of post for materials list and color palette.) Kirk’s video demo Begin by painting over the entire surface with a quick, uneven layer of color. See what you can do with a tiny canvas or panel a few inches on each side. Kirk’s approach suggests a wonderful idea for you to experiment with. Note the row of trees, one of which Kirk included in the center of his first painting. Photo of scene from which Kirk Richards painted his demo.
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