Painting Flowers with Wet into Wet in Oil Paints

How to Paint Plants and Berries with Oils via a Glazing Technique

© Rachel Wills

Aug 23, 2009

Wet-into-wet means working onto wet paint. The resultant pigments move in a fluid fashion and colours flow into neighbouring colours in unexpected ways. The organic shapes of natural subject matter such as flowers and fauna can be suggested by using a wet underglaze.

Setting up a Still Life Study

The objects selected for this demonstration includes St John’s Wort and winter berries. The setting had been placed upon a window sill in order to add the dimensions of a reflection in the window and a silhouette on the curtain. Arranging a still life can often take some time and thought. The composition was then sketched onto the painting surface and overlaid with a dark acrylic paint so that it would show through the underglaze.

Art Materials Required

1. Linseed oil
2. Blue acrylic paint
3. Oil paints in the following colours: titanium, cadmium red, permanent rose, cadmium yellow, lemon yellow, viridian, ultramarine, burnt sienna and burnt umber
4. A 12” x 16” (30.5 x 40.5cm) piece of primed MDF
5. A size 3 and size 6 round sable brushes
6. A wide bristle brush
7. A palette consisting of a china plate
8. Small pot of artists’ white spirits
9. A few rags
10. Soft pencil

Wet-into-wet With Glazes of Oil Colour

To give the painting a vibrant undercurrent, a mixture of burnt sienna and permanent rose was squeezed onto the palette and mixed with plenty of linseed oil until it had a runny consistency. The glaze was then daubed over the painting surface, which was angled at about forty-five degrees to stop the paint dribbling down the surface. The solution will remain wet for at least four hours, which should be ample time for the painting session (fig 1).

Demonstration

Encountering wet into wet for the first time can be daunting. The following tips might help.

• Applying paint onto a wet surface means having to use paint liberally or the colour will mix into the wet glaze
• Avoid overworking the paint, or it will become muddy and lose its life
• Apply the paint boldy
• Don’t try to illustrate detail, leave it implied
• Allow imperfections to remain. This is the point of wet into wet.

With a wide bristle brush, white was daubed around the areas represented by the sun shining through the curtain. The colours for the silhouette were applied in similar fashion and consisted of a mixture of ultramarine and permanent rose (fig 2).

Using Linseed Oil

With a thin sable, cadmium yellow, lemon yellow and white were dabbed onto the petals of the St John’s wort, and viridian and white for the leaves. Varying amounts of burnt sienna suggested form (fig 3). Burnt sienna, ultramarine and varying amounts of white were used for the teapot and vase (fig 4). The cherries were suggested by dabs of cadmium red punctuated with dots of white for the highlights. The background to the flowers was then blocked in via a mixture of ultramarine, permanent rose, burnt umber and varying amounts of white. The dark background makes the sunlit flowers suddenly stand out.

St John’s Wort and Winter Berries

Wet into wet means applying wet paint onto a wet surface. It adds fluidity and spontaneity. Lot of linseed oil is required for the underlying paint, which means that copious amounts of pigment is required for the overlying paint, or it will look muddy. The secret to completing a successful wet into wet painting is to apply the colours boldy and to allow imperfections to remain.

St John's Wort and Winter Berries

Applying a Wet Glaze of Oil Paint (fig 1)

Daubing Oil Paint for Sunlight and Shade (fig 2)

Dabbing Yellow onto Flower Petals (fig 3)

Completing a Still Life Study (fig 4)

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