©nmawdsley2007 St Budeaux Parish Church . PROJECT: A TYPICAL ENGLISH CHURCH & SUMMER TREES Here, Sir Francis Drake was married to Mary Newman in 1569 ..Paints to Use: RS Raw Sienna CY Cadmium Yellow CB Cobalt Blue BU Burnt Umber FB Ultramarine Blue AC Alizarin Crimson YO Yellow Ochre LR Light Red or Burnt Sienna . 1.Practice, practice, summer trees first: dabbing with a sponge or dabbing with a small brush. 2. Use a pale colour to start with and let this dry. 3. Add a stronger mix of the same colour on top, but leaving holes for the earlier wash to show through. 4. Add an even darker shadow mix. This is usually the lower half or lower side of the tree. Note. The tree shape has a good chance of working if you pay extra attention to its edge. 5. On your watercolour paper outline the painting in pencil. You need to pay care and attention to building details- especially curves, tower angle shadows, and windows. It will make life easier later. You can miss the complicated gate out if you wish. Mask out the flagpole, flag and church tower if you like. 6.Sky area: Tilt paper/board slightly and starting at the top, wash in a medium strength of clear, even blue sky. You could try a mix of CB/FB. Take care with the edges of the church building. 7.The Church building: Big brush. Mix up a pale wash of RS or YO and cover the rest of the picture ( church,trees,walls,gate,paths etc .) Dry the paper. 8 Use BU to suggest shadows and mottled brickwork. Start off very pale, dabbing in marks to suggest brickwork, and carefully put in shadows. Use this mix with a fine brush to suggest the flagpole. When this is dry build up a little more of medium strength BU and apply especially to the tower windows. Roof slates: Pale FB. Red tiles: Pale LR. 9. Trees: Distant trees behind the church – a mix of FB/RS pale grey green, for distance. Use a brush or sponge. Foreground foliage, trees: Using a sponge build up gradually, the greens. CY/CB Think of layering shades of green from light to dark, and leaving light negative areas as you work. Take care with sky edges of the tree. Suggest a few branches in the left tree – medium FB/BU Dry in between applications, or leave just moist. Work on the shadow areas as well. Finish shadows with a mix of CY/CB/BU – stronger near the base of the trees. 10. Foreground wall.: Strengthen colours by adding pale washes of RS, AC, and further BU in patches on the brickwork. Mix a medium strength of FB/BU to create deeper shadows. The wall brickwork can be worked in with this mix. Also the church alter window- fine brush, take care. The gate shadow also with this mix, under the big tree. On the alter window use a fine craft knife to scratch out some lattice effects, and add a blot of bright pure red in the middle window, to bleed into the scratches – to suggest stained glass light effects. 11. Foreground road : Medium strength of FB/LR. .Suggest some grassy edge to the foreground wall using various mixes of CY/CB and FB/BU Stand back and make good any omissions, shadow tones, etc. You can use pastels or acrylics to correct even further.