Painting Through

I love to paint the shrimp boats over at Scipio Creek where the fleet is harbored. The booms, wires, gears and nets that form a lacy pattern against the lighter background attracts my eye every time. Today I painted the building which houses the estuary research facility.

When painting the sky, paint through any areas that will eventually be darker. (The exception is if that midtone is going to be warmer and you don't want it influenced by the cool sky tones.)

When painting a midtone shape, be aware of subtle color changes and creating an interesting shape. Paint through all the areas that will eventually be darker. For instance, the building was once all one value. When it was dry, I came back in with the darker shadows. These darks must be bold enough so you don't have to go back over them again. Paint through all the rigging that will eventually be even darker. Find the major struts and bars that do the hauling, and you can then be a little more flexible and inventive with the rest of the lines and wires. Then load the brush with lots of paint and little water to make the darkest lines in the composition.

Paint through areas that will eventually be darker. Don't stop at the line where a darker shape will be or you'll get a halo effect that will look unnatural. Knowing ahead of time where your lights, midtones and darks will be will allows you to paint through those areas that will later be darks.