Painting #25: Mixing tints and shades to achieve effects of light and shadow. - Red Poppy

Composition Source:

"Learn to Paint in Acrylics with 50 Small Paintings" by Mark Daniel Nelson; 

5 step-by-step directions with photos to guide you.

Exercise 10: Mixing tints and shades to achieve effects of light and shadow.
In this exercise, mixing tints and shades of Cadmium Red Medium.

Step 5:   Finished artwork:

• The last step was to unify the colours further by applying an almost transparent glaze of Cadmium Red Medium with a tiny bit of acrylic painting medium.  

Step 4:  In Progress work:

• Re-draw inside lines to indicate petals 
• Mix Cadmium Red Medium with a tiny touch of Mars Black for the shadowed areas.  Add more black to paint the centre. Mix the with Red with Titanium white for the lighter areas.

 
 Step 3:  

• Fill the inside of the poppy with Cadmium Red Medium; leaving the centre clear.

Step 2: 

• I decided to go with a more colourful background - could be reflections on water and out-of-focus plants in the background. 

•  Under-paint background in a warm beige/peach leaving the poppy area unpainted.  This is the background suggested in the instructions.  

Step 1: Drawing on tracing paper and then transferred to the canvas using graphite transfer paper.

Size:  ~ 6" x 6" 

Paints: acrylics
Liquitex Basics:titanium white, unbleached titanium, Cadmium Yellow Light
Grumbacher Academy : Cadmium Red Medium
Leftover mixed painted in a dark gray and a peach shade.
Acrylic Painting Medium, gloss

Brushes & Tools:

• Round: #6, 8, 10. 12 
• plastic palette knife for mixing paint,
• Materson Sta-Wet Palette  & Paint brush water tub  

Surface or Support:  

• Mont Marte brand.  Medium-heavy canvas sheets, cut to size. No buckling or warping.