Autumn Mist on Malvern Link Common
Acrylic on Board (MDF)
This scene presented a number of challenges. The light in the grass in the foreground, the gradation of the sky from left to right and the mist in the distance.
Acrylic paints are good for subtle variations of tone since they allow you to apply a number of quick-drying glazes to adjust the depth of a shadow or highlight a sunny spot.
In this case you will see the use of whitish glazes to put the mist on the Malvern hills in the background.
I start the sky with a series of very sloppy washes of acrylic applied with a 2 inch brush. I have found that this is best done quickly and, to help this, I mix a lot of colour in an aluminium foil dish so that I don't run out halfway. The board has been prepared by painting it with two coats of white ghesso and lightly sanding it. The sloppiness of the washes helps to cover the board better.
The first steps
Start from the top and your bottom will be lovely...
Establish the foreground tones and add the hills:
More work is being done here to get the gradation in the sky and, once the hills have been added, milky glazes are being applied to give the mist on the left hand side of the painting
Add the sun into the sky and the hills:
The brightness of the sunny sky is heightened by increasing the darkness of the foreground on the left of the picture as well as adding the midground tones on the right.
Adding the foreground trees and adding the texture of the long grass give the painting it's final touches.
