Welcome to the Cotswold Art Club

Leanne Ellis

For her first painting, Leanne started with a simple line drawing on Bockingford 140 water colour paper which she had secured to a board with masking tape. She advised that it was better to keep the board upright at around 45% as painting on a flat surface causes more crinkling to the paper when wet. She used just 6 colours on her palette. Ultramarine Blue, Yellow Ochre, Burnt Sienna, Raw Umber, Hookers Green and Alizarin Crimson.

She advised to use plenty of water for the sky base, graduating the Ultramarine Blue and after rinsing and squeezing the 3/4 inch flat brush, twisted it to take out areas of blue to form clouds. She used a synthetic brush to mop up the excess water.

Painting outside edge of the path made a more natural boundary when adding the darker edges of the grass to the sides. Be sure to bring the shadows across according to the direction of the light. Always use the same colour blue for the water as the sky, but also mix in small quantities of all the other colours for a realistic appearance. Leave some unpainted areas for the white light reflections.

For the field grass, Leanne always uses Hookers Green, but never on its own as she prefers it mixed with one or more of the other colours. Be aware of the shades to use according to the bright or shadowy areas. She used her finger nails to scratch out tufts of grass by the path and branches on the trees.

After painting the cabin, she squeezed the excess water from her brush and took away vertical lines to create wooden boards. It was important to highlight the roof and paint dark shadows at the side and behind for a 3D effect.

For Leanne’s second painting of the sunset, she placed masking tape across the horizon. The same method with Ultramarine blue was used for the sky and clouds. Burnt Umber and Yellow Ochre were mixed together and gently merged at the edges of the blue. Hookers Green combined with the same three colours formed the hillside, remembering to undulate the land according to the light and shadows cast. At this point the masking tape was removed.

Once again, the same colours in different quantities were painted in horizontal lines and merged together for the beach. Realistic shades appeared by using a clean damp brush. Being careful to maintain the light of the horizon line, shades of blue mixed with browns were painted in wavy lines for the sea. The darkest shades on the horizon. Again the white of the paper was left to show the tip of the waves.

Leanne put blobs of the colours in rough shapes of rocks and finished off the effect, making irregular forms with the edge of a credit card. She then added a couple of figures on the beach. A square shape for the bodies and longer brush strokes for the legs and arms. She also added a couple of birds with a V shape and straight line behind.

We all enjoyed Leanne’s commentary and humour. She also had various art products for sale at very reasonable prices

PAUL OAKLEY – IMPRESSIONIST OIL PAINTING

In March Paul Oakley from the Pewsey Vale Studio provided an excellent demonstration of impressionist oil painting.

Paul began his demonstration by showing us a painting he had copied from Claude Monet. He wanted to study the colours, style and brushstrokes to understand how to capture the shimmering effects of sunlight on water. He told us that the trees in the original painting were ready to be sold for timber, but Monet bought the trees at auction so he could continue painting them.
Paul had selected a similar photograph to work from to paint in Monet’s impressionistic style. He had primed and added the blue areas of the sky and outlined the image on board to save time.
He started with the darker underside of the clouds, using diagonal strokes with a round headed brush. He left the white of the primer to form the light areas.
When painting the water he used small horizontal strokes building up the layers of reflection. Although the trees were painted diagonally as was the sky, their reflections were
horizontal, thus creating the sense of movement. Square headed brushes were used for the vertical tree trunks.
Paul stressed how important it is to think about the light and dark areas and which direction the light is coming from. Cool colours in the distance and warm colours in the foreground. Mid range colour to soften the edges of the trees.
When painting the leaves nearest the viewer, the directions of the brush strokes should vary in different directions, again to show movement.
Paul completed the painting by darkening the hedge behind the trees to make the image pop. We were impressed that such a detailed painting could be completed to such a high
standard in the time given.

NEXT DEMONSTRATION

Leanne Ellis will be demonstrating in Water colour on April 18th 2026 Club Meeting Page