Please note: The Gift Bag is no longer available and was part of the first e-course

Lesson Description:

This underpainting was prepared by gluing down pieces of newspaper with YES Paste.  White gesso was applied with a small piece of mat board or an old credit card over the newspapers and in selected areas on the surface and allowed to dry.

Mix a sepia tone color using Quinacridone burnt orange and French Ultramarine blue.  Using a piece of mat board, add shapes of paint to form the windows and the large shapes.  Keep cutting the end of the mat board off so you always have a clean surface to work with.  Whenever you want a soft edge, spray water onto the surface and work over it with the mat board to soften the colors. Use the tip to make more precise shapes.  Last minute, I decided to add a red color accent to the umbrellas.

This scene was drawn on location in San Gimignano, Italy.  It took over an hour to draw but only a few minutes to scrape the color over the surface.  This “alla prima” approach adds a lot of life to the subject and does not look overworked.  Any combination of compliments would create a lovely gray to scratch over the linear shapes.