Blog

Shimmering Town - Step by Step Demonstration - Step 1

When back home from a short trip to Tangier - a constantly and uncontrolled growing harbour town in Northern Morocco - I started this painting with no specific aim in a quite abstract way. But very soon appeared a somehow architectural structure on the canvas. And so I went on to built up "houses" with the palette knife and modeling paste in the "skyline" and middle part. Burnt sienna is used for a wash over the hill and other parts.

Shimmering Town - Demonstration Step 2

Palette knife and modeling paste mixed with a touch of ochre are used to build up more houses, doorways, windows, bridges and walls in the open spaces. This town on the canvas is now growing like the real Tangier and while working I feel strong energy and also the kind of tension when I´m really into the painting.

Demonstration Step 3

Again the sky is changing to blue. I move now in the area of the houses in the upper right side. Burnt sienna and a touch of ochre is used to pull the painting together. With a mix of ultramarine/red oxide pigment and ultramarine/burnt sienna I get very dark violet and some darker grayish tones to modulate more depth.

Demonstation Step 4

The sky gets a wash of lighter blue near the value of the ochre/white houses, so that the houses at the horizon line seem to disappear in the sky. This brings out a stronger focal point which is concentrated in the darker upper left part of the houses.
With the palette knife and impasto gel I modulate a palm tree in front of the wall at bottom right. The dark water gets some more light reflection.