Glazing techniques

This term I've enrolled in the Contemporary landscape painting course at Art Est. Our tutor Carla is a kiwi painter well regarded for her beautiful skies. Carla promised to teach me how to glaze. I've often wondered how the Dutch masters get their luminescent effect. The answer it seems is the patient application on multiple layers of thinly diluted colour in a glaze medium.


Great isn't it? It looks almost renaissance and a landscape of Europe rather than the Cook river in Sydney.

To get an effect of deep shadows which are usually purple, glaze alternate layers of ultramarine and magenta. Both colours must be transparent for it to work. Glazing allows the colours to be optically mixed on the canvas.

To knock back a colour eg green so that it recedes, glaze with orange ( its complementary colour). I'm quite thrilled with this effect, just have to experiment a bit more.

Western Australia

This holidays I went to WA with the family. It was only a short trip as it piggy backed onto hubby's business trip to Perth. Given the short timeframe we only visited Perth, The Pinnacles, New Norcia and Fremantle.

The Pinnacles are where limestone outcrops protrude from the earth. What made them remarkable is that they occurred at a desert setting which meant that everything was the same vivid hues as deserts in Central Australia. While my family explored the territory I set myself up to do this watercolour sketch. Was terribly wind blown and bitterly cold. There's fine sand in my palette now.

Fremantle is historic and full of the most amazing old buildings made of their unique sandstone. We stayed at a pretty cottage by the beach and I took time to paint the geraniums flowering profusely.



This is also the location of our historic America Cup defense, wharfs and marinas taking up lots of the beach front. I thought the view lovely but was not able to capture everything about the water that I wished. Am resolved to get an acrylic pack ready for excursions en plein air when I get home.