Autumn Light - palette knife oil painting

Autumn Light 

40x50 cm (16" x 20") on boxed canvas

Oil palette knife painting by Marion Hedger

I am always captivated by the way light filters through woodland. The yellows and golds on these birches are so rich and vibrant, what a lovely time of year.

I blocked in the major masses in pure colour and gradually laid in the autumn colours using a palette knife. My palette was mainly cadmium yellow, cadmium orange, diox. violet, carmine and ultramarine blue. Because the paint is quite thick, I used Liquin as a drying medium. It has just come off my easel, hence the slight glare on the bottom.

Tarn Gorges - Oil Palette Knife Painting

Tarn Gorges

Oil on Canvas panel

35x27 cm (14"x11")

This is my first all knife painting from a very old photograph I found in the back of the drawer.
Unfortunately I got so carried away with painting that I completely forgot to take progress photos but here is a brief descripition of my progress:

I first drew in the large masses using a watercolour pencil and then blocked in the lights using warm colours and the darks using cool colours. I used a light yellow for the lightest part to make sure that this area would look nice and sunny. I then gradually added colour wet into wet, in an extra 3 to 4 layers. The first to make the colour look 'real', the second to break up the masses into 3 or 4 areas depending on the light, the third to refine the colour in the masses and the fourth layer for the refinement. I used only pure colour, mainly mixing it on the painting as I went along. I also worked to keep the shadows not too dark but just dark enough.
I am not sure about the look of the sky, and for my next knife painting I may blend the sky a little more. I have also had a suggestion that is needs to be warmed up a bit and have more recession on the left side. What do you think?
To contact me about this painting click here