Bill continues his lesson by showing us how to create light on a very dark canvas. Remember, he has prepared the canvas with Sap Green and Prussian Blue. The paint is very wet.

Key Points To Consider:

• He uses Matte Black Latex Acrylic Paint (Did you know you don’t need to spend the money to buy Gesso? House paint will work fine!)
• Bill prepped his canvas with black acrylic and let it dry overnight.
• Then he applied Sap Green where he wants the “sunny” parts and Prussian Blue on the “shadowy” side.
• Because he worked the background colors in so well he can use thick paint.
• He has Prussian Blue in his brush and adds Cadmium Yellow to create a Green Color.
• He adds some distant trees standing up.
• Bill uses the Alexander Medium Fan Brush, with Cadmium Yellow and a touch of Titanium White to add a sunny shoreline.
• He uses an Alexander 1″ Brush to make his trees. Again, loaded with Cadmium Yellow and White.
• He gently touches the canvas and lifts it. Almost like he was using a rubber stamp!
• Bill avoids touching the same place more than once because he doesn’t want to overwork his strokes.
• He keeps the top of the trees light and airy.
• When he applies the yellow for the lower tree he makes sure he is painting into darkness so the tree shows up as an individual tree, not an extension of the larger tree.
• He keeps the bottom of the trees dark and keeps the light up on top where the sun would hit.
• When Bill applies the paint in the water for the reflections, he flattens out the brush and drags straight down, with a very light touch.

Bill used to get frustrated because he felt like he was saying the same thing, over and over. I understand him now! I feel like I’m doing the same thing! Hopefully, it helps you understand just how Bill’s technique worked. I know repetition is a good thing! It certainly is a great way to learn.

Have you noticed that everything Bill paints is happy? I don’t know about you, but we could watch Bill all day!

Happy Painting!

Laurie and Dawn

PLUS: So whenever you’re ready…here are a few ways we can help you become the artist you’ve always wanted to be.

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2:  Let US guide you in our Alexander Master Class 

Quickly learn the Alexander proven way to paint starting from where you are… and we’ll lead you from there. The best thing is our Master Class is a unique series of courses with live feedback taught by Master Artist, Master Teacher, Tom Anderson. It isn’t for people who have already “Mastered” painting techniques… It is for people with the passion and desire to learn everything the Old Masters and Bill Alexander knew one baby step at a time.

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Not sure how to move forward on your path to become a great artist?  Just hit reply to this message and put “Art Journey” in the subject line… tell me a little bit about your painting experience (even if you have none) and we will set up a private meeting to see if Alexander Art is a good fit for you.