Plein Air Step-by-Step

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Oil demo by Matt Smith

Start with a simple line drawing. Keep it simple and identify the main shapes:

Next up is a series of thin washes. I wipe them back so they take the second round of paint with at least a little grab. The second coat just glides across the top:

Now that the main relationships are down, I can begin to lay the thicker paint in with confidence:

The finish takes a lot more time than the initial lay in. It’s a back and forth of texture, color, edges, and detail. Take your time with this:

95% done. At this point I step away for a few minutes in hopes of coming back with a fresh eye. By the way….don’t do this in a windy day:

Finished on the easel:

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Did you enjoy this step-by-step from Matt? He has plenty teachings like this and more in his 365 day mentoring course: