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A Walk in the Woods: Page 4

Author: Roger Elliot, Associate Editor

Now I have filled in the right side to this point. I have allowed myself to inject a bit of color here and there although in these sessions we are working more on technique than on color. We'll get to that later. It is time now for us to add a "carrot". A what?  A carrot! I'll explain.

One of the easiest and most effective ways to put some simple figures into your painting is to inject them from the back as they walk away from the viewer. Here's how. Start by drawing a carrot onto your canvas. Color in the top half of your carrot in any color you wish. Choose a darker value of that same color and add a couple of lines that will act as the sleeves of the top. Choose another color and color in the bottom half of your carrot. Again choose a darker value of that color and draw a line that will divide the paint legs and define the buttocks. Work these a bit with your smudge tool. Add a little dark between the colors to represent the belt. If you wish to have your carrot walk simply make one leg a bit longer than the other. Add some dark at the bottom of each leg to represent shoes. Lastly select a hair color and draw in the hair. There you have it! Remember, these are meant to be representational figures. Just put them in if you wish.

So here I have painted in my carrot. :-) Also, I have extended the road around to the right and I have darken in the area beside the road. Next, I will fill in the foliage in that area and begin to deal with the foreground.

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