Record the flaxen grass on canvas.
Beautiful in any of the four seasons, a field is a relatively simple yet appealing feature of the landscape to render in paint, and is a good introductory subject for beginning painters. You may choose to make the field complex, up-close and detailed, with trees and rocks, or to limit yourself to the grass and topography of the land only. Either way, a pasture, with its swales and hillocks, is a fascinating subject for a painting, and one that is not overly difficult to master.
Instructions
Painting the Field
1. Mix 2 parts yellow ochre, 1 part burnt umber and 1 part ultramarine blue on your palette. Dip your large brush in this color. Paint a horizontal line about 2/3 of the way up your canvas or canvas board. In the lower section, apply this color in upward-reaching, curving strokes to create the illusion of grass blades. Fill in as much of the area as possible. Clean your brush.
2. Mix 2 parts ultramarine blue, 1 part alizarin crimson and 1/2 part burnt umber on your palette. Dip your large brush in this color. Apply this darker color to the empty spaces within the existing grass blades to create the illusion of shadow. Clean your brush.
3. Mix 2 parts yellow ochre, 1 part white and 1 part cadmium yellow on your palette. Dip your large brush in this color. Apply this light color sparingly to the existing field grass, using upward-reaching, curving strokes. This will create the illusion of lighter grasses and sun highlights. Clean your brush.
4. Sweep your dry, flat brush over the field grass, using upward-reaching, curving strokes. Blend in the places you desire. Do not over-blend. Clean your brush.
5. Mix 3 parts ultramarine blue, 1 part alizarin crimson and 1 part yellow ochre on your palette. Dip your small brush into this color. Apply thinly to some of the grass blades in the foreground of the painting to give them greater definition. Apply this color to outline any negative spaces between the grasses in the foreground. Apply elsewhere on the field as desired. Clean your brush.
