BLICKLING HALL WATERCOLOUR AND OIL

An earlier post told you I went to Blickling Hall with Anita for a sketching day. Since then I have created a full size (12" x 8") watercolour to add to my local collection of low priced works for the Worstead Festival later in the summer.




I decided these sketches and photos of the dark purple tulip borders with Blickling Hall and its towers and windows peeping through just asked for another interpretation, so I am doing an oil on canvas 16" x 16".

Here are some images of the work in progress. Using the watercolour as my base, I decided to home in for a more close up feel, so there is not so much architecture behind the flowers and less flowers of course.

Here's an early stage with the shapes drawn in with brown stabilo fineliner as it hit and missed on the weave of the canvas.

A later stage with colour going on from Michael Hardings Aureolin, Napthol red, Manganese and Ultra violets plus Red Umber and Prussian blue to strengthen the darks for the building and as for the greens used a mix of Bright Green Lake, Phthalocyanine Green and Sap.

The windows have soft green blinds, with varying tones depending on how the sun hit the glazed windows. Oops! in this close up cropped image I can see the angle below the tower dome has been changed when I added some darks. Probably because I stretched across to the easel while seated and didn't quite make it straight. Should get my trusty mahl stick out more often. Never mind with oils its easy to correct at a later stage.

Oh! yes, almost forgot to tell you after creating the backdrop, I added thick gesso to the tulip shapes to help them stand out before adding colour - soft King Blue, the two violets and Prussian with touches of one of the reds.

Hope to spend a good bit of tomorrow finishing off the tulip stalks and leaves in the foreground, then leave the whole painting to settle before adding highlights and any little touches of dark. Maybe go over the tulip blooms with a glaze of Ultra Violet to warm them up.