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Christmas Common Sketches – leading to larger painting

Christmas Common Sketches – leading to larger painting

I have been playing about with some small sketches in pencil and in gouache and pencil.

It was useful to do a black and white pencil sketch first to establish the composition and layout within this wide format. Also to establish the movement in the scene and try to resolve some of the tonal problems. Looking from a dark area into the sunlit areas beyond the trees without making too much of a silhouette of the trees was one problem and how the feeling of light shining through the trees would work tonally was another problem to be considered.

Cristmas Common_Pencil_700

When it came to the gouache sketch below, I knew I didn’t want too much contrast between the dark and light areas and decided to try and use colour to create the effect I wanted.

Christmas Common_Sketch_700

By making the foreground shadow areas warmer and the light areas cooler, like the blue in the distant trees in the centre, it has created some depth in the picture and a nice feeling of dark into light, without making it too tonally depressing.

To see what I have done with the larger painting in acrylic CLICK HERE!