Day: May 28, 2023

Art: Lago di Como, 1 (step by step)

I hadn’t “arted” in months, when I suddenly got the itch again.

In the meantime I purchased a new set of acrylic paint markers in shades of “natural earth” and a thin nib.

I chose to paint a series of scenes from Lake Como in Italy. This is an island or peninsula by the lake with cypresses, yellow houses with red orange roofs. The sky is several shades of pale yellow and ochre. The foreground shows some flowers and more cypresses at the right. In between the island, the water of the lake is pale and dark blue.

Finished piece framed in black wood and white mounting card against a white table

This is the final result, framed in black wood.

I used 13 acrylic paint markers with a thin nib. The size of the paining is 8.5 x 12.5 cm.

It took me about 3 hours to complete from start to finish.

The whole process is rather pleasant and relaxing. I really like that the paint is opaque, because it’s error proof!

Step by step

Rough pencil sketch on a textured watercolour postcard. The outline marks where the visual elements will be: cypress trees and flowers in the foreground, land and houses, and clouds
Bright yellow for the clouds and sky
Pale yellow added to the sky
Light brown to add contrast to the cloudy sky
Light green to mark where the cypress trees are lit
Medium green for the cypress trees
Dark green for the parts of the trees that are in shadow
Six houses near the top of the hill. The roofs are orange and the sides of the houses that are in the shadow are painted dark red.
Vivid yellow for the facades of the houses
Thin black ink pen for the windows
Medium green to paint patches of the hill's vegetation
Pale green for the hill's vegetation that is catching the sun light
Dark green to finish the hill's vegetation
The shore of the hill is painted with two shades of burgundy
Pale blue and deeper blue to paint the lake, saving space at the bottom for the flower bed
Medium green for the flower bed background
Vivid yellow and red for flowers in the foreground
Dark green to give contrast to the flower bed and mark areas with shadows
Finished. I used a white pen to date and sign. The postcard is next to the 13 markers I used: pale and medium blue, yellow, orange, red, pale and dark burgundy, three greens, egg shell, pale yellow and pale brown.