A Different Way to Paint Trees, Ideal for Beginners too!

I was watching a TV programme where the man was painting trees, or tree shapes to be more accurate. It was a technique that I hadn’t seen before so I thought you would find it interesting too.

He started by painting in the trunks and some branches then added the leaves using a piece of towel. Just a normal fabric towel, the kind you dry your hands on. He bunched it up in his hand and used a smooth section, not a crumpled part.

As you can imagine by dipping the surface of the towel into the paint and then just touching it onto the painting surface gives a random texture. The result was very effective too.

The key point is to keep within a tree shape with the towel texture. You can add some detail with a brush to tidy it up if necessary.

Be sure to try it on a spare piece of paper with an old bit of towel or an old face cloth to see if you like the look before you add it into your painting!


Making Green for the Trees

We discussed this before but it seems relevant to revisit this handy colour mixing tip here.

If you have mixed up a blue and yellow to make a green, or used a premixed colour, you can often find that it is too bright. Try adding a little red to the green to make it more subdued.


Why this works

When you mix two complimentary colours together you get a neutral colour. A complimentary colour is the colour on the opposite side of the colour wheel, to your original one. An example would be yellow and purple.

So by adding just a touch of red to your too bright green you are making it more of a neutral colour and therefore less bright.

This type of colour mixing information can be found in the Colour Mixing Tips and Thoughts Special Report at the Learn and Do website. At present it is a bonus with The Acrylic Painting Course. :-)

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New Beginners Acrylic Painting Report and Video File on CD

I have a new item on CD that is suitable for anyone ready to learn how to paint.

(If you already have The Acrylic Painting Course this is NOT for you.
You will have all this information in the course.)

The Acrylic Painting Tips and Techniques for the Beginner Report tells you what equipment to buy, how to set up your painting supplies and there a couple of easy projects to start you off.

And there's more…

As well as the Acrylic Painting Tips and Techniques for the Beginner Report there is Acrylic Painting Equipment and Techniques computer video file that runs for about 19 minutes. It shows how to set up your palette, how to load artist brushes and a bit of colour mixing too.

Both these items are sent to you on a CD so there are no downloading worries.
This information will be available for the next month or two before I remove it.
Visit the link below to find out more.

http://www.geocities.com/cathcald

The Pigment used for Making Emerald Green Paint

This article looks at how Emerald Green paint used to be made and how dangerous it was to be to be a painter!

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Emerald Green

This shade of green is particularly light and bright, with a faint bluish tint. The name is derived from the typical appearance of the Emerald gemstone.

However it is chemically unstable and very poisonous.

The colour of Emerald Green pigment can range from a pale, but vivid, blue green when very finely ground, to a deeper true green when coarsely ground.

A Bit of History

Chemical name: Copper(II)-acetoarsenite

This copper aceto-arsenite pigment was first produced commercially in Germany in 1814.

A quote from the time tells how green paint was made –

"Verdigris (or acetic acid) was dissolved in vinegar and warmed. A watery solution of white arsenic was added to it so that a dirty green solution was formed. To correct the colour, fresh vinegar was added to dissolve the solid particles. The solution was then boiled and bright blue-green sediment was obtained. It was then separated from the liquid, washed and dried on low heat and ground in thirty percent linseed oil. "

The Choice of Famous Artists

Emerald Green was Cezanne's favourite pigment, and it dominates many of his paintings. In his watercolours, the thin washes of this colour have turned brown but thicker applications have remained bright green. Cezanne developed severe diabetes, which is a symptom of chronic arsenic poisoning.

This pigment was also a favoured by other artists of this era, such as Van Gogh. Monet's blindness and Van Gogh's neurological disorders are likely directly related to their use of Emerald Green, as well as lead pigments, mercury-based Vermilion, and solvents such as turpentine.

I bet they wished they only needed to nip out to the store to get some more paint ;-)

Some Green Facts and Meanings

Ireland is sometimes called the Emerald Isle because it rains frequently and the vegetation is a very lush green. Green is the national colour of Ireland.

Libya is the only nation to have a flag that is solid green.

Green means ‘go’.

Jealousy is said to be the ‘green-eyed monster’.

You can also be ‘green with envy’.

If you are ‘green about the gills’ you are looking sickly and pale.

Green is the healing colour, and the colour of nature.

Green is the easiest colour on the eye. So it is a popular decorating colour.

It is a calming and refreshing colour. People waiting to appear on TV wait in the ‘Green Room’. Hospitals often use green (uniforms and walls) to help patients to relax.

In the middle ages brides wore green to symbolise fertility.

In ancient Greece green symbolised victory.

Dark green is said to represent masculinity, conservatism and wealth.

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I hope you have a lovely holiday season and that Santa is good to you!