Bill Alexander Painting Tips: Columbia River Gorge pt 3

We have a special treat for you for all of June! You get to paint along with the legendary Bill Alexander!

Each Saturday we will have tips and instructions from Bill himself as he walks you through “Columbia River Gorge.”

Here is what you will need to get started:

Oil Colors

Materials

Let’s Get Started!

Bill Takes His Time To Get It The Way He Wants!

Bill continues on with the background. He shows us that it doesn’t matter what we do, we can fix it or change the outcome.

Points To Consider:

Bill doesn’t worry about adding too much paint because he can lift it off with his palette knife.
By removing the excess paint, Bill can add more on top of the background color, easily.
He lifts the paint off to show us how.
He adds more paint back in because he wants to use it for the sun rays.
Bill tells us that it is important to know what is on your canvas. He uses his big brush to make sure he has an even layer of paint on the canvas. A light touch to the canvas using just the corner of the brush will do it.
To create the rays Bill begins in the yellow paint. He doesn’t want to drag the darker colors into his light. It doesn’t matter if he does though because he can always add more light.
Think of a clock while painting sun rays. Begin in the center and then go outward towards were the numbers on the clock would be.
Sometimes the only way to make something to appear brighter, is to add dark around it. When Bill adds the dark clouds, notice how much brighter the sun appears.
He didn’t have much time to finish a painting so he had to hurry. We suggest you take your time and enjoy the process.
Bill is using a thick, firm paint and bristle hair brushes. This is important because when he stacks paint on top of paint, the colors don’t bleed together, which would happen if the paint was thin or oily.

For more information click HERE