Lesson video

Hello, my name's Miss Nadia.

Welcome to our art lesson.

I'm really looking forward to learning with you today.

And let's have a little look further at what we'll be doing in our lesson.

In our lesson today layering and blending, creating depth and richness in paintings.

Your lesson outcomes will be that you can say, "I can use layering and blending to create depth and richness in my paintings." There are quite a lot of key words today in our lesson that we'll be referring to throughout the course of the lesson.

So let's familiarize ourselves with those now.

The first key word is wet on wet blending.

This is applying wet paint onto wet paint for soft blends.

Our next key word is dry brush blending, and this is using minimal paint for broken color and texture.

Our third keyword today is glazing, and this involves adding thin, transparent layers of paint over an existing layer.

And next keyword is scumbling.

This is where you apply thin, broken, dry-brush layer of paint over a dry, darker, or underlying layer.

And our final keyword today is sgraffito.

This is where you would scratch or carve through a top layer to reveal the underlying color creating patterns or designs.

So our keywords are wet on wet blending, dry brush blending, glazing, scumbling, and sgraffito.

Our lesson today is going to be split into two learning cycles.

And our first learning cycle is called exploring layering and blending techniques.

What makes these paintings feel deep or rich? Take a moment to think about your answer.

Layering and blending are ways to build atmosphere, texture, and emotion in a painting.

This can make a painting feel deeper and richer.

Now, if we look at layering in a bit more detail, this involves applying successive coats of paint to build depth and detail.

And we can see in the painting example on the screen now how this can be achieved.

And if we look more deeply into blending, this is the smooth transition between colors, and we can see an example of this also on the screen.

Is this true or false? Layering involves building depth with successive coats of paint while blending creates smooth transitions between colors.

And the answer is true.

Layering adds depth and detail whilst blending softens the edges and unites colors.

Examples of artists who use layering techniques are Rembrandt Van Rijn, who often applied oil paint in layers, combining thin glazes with thicker brush strokes to build depth, light, and shadow.

Thomas Gainsborough experimented with innovative paint fillers to create translucent layers of paint in oils.

Leon Kossoff worked with thick layers of oil paint, building a thick impasto surface.

Claudette Johnson uses pastels, charcoal, and pencil in layered applications to create depth and texture in her portraits.

Anahita Azrahimi is a contemporary artist who creates vivid collages by layering and blending graphics from magazines with her paintings.

Photorealist Audrey Flack applied paint with an airbrush, building up the image in multiple layers to achieve rich colors and depth.

Shanti Panchal builds depth and luminosity by layering multiple washers of watercolor.

Jasmir Creed layers paint and found images to add and explore identity and urban experience.

Which artist is known for applied paint with an airbrush to build up the image in multiple layers? Is this A: Anahita Azrahimi? Is it B: Audrey Flack? Is it C: Jasmir Creed? Or is it D: Shanti Panchal? And the answer is Audrey Flack.

Techniques help artists to blend, layer and build rich surfaces.

Some of these techniques include wet on wet, applying wet paint onto wet paint to create soft blends.

Wet on dry, where you apply wet paint onto dry layers for defined edges.

Other techniques for achieving blends and depth include glazing, which are thin, transparent layers, scumbling, applying thin, opaque paint for texture, dry brushing, using minimal paint for broken color and texture, and sgraffito techniques, which is scratching into the surface and revealing layers below, scraping or sponging paint away to create texture and detail.

Which technique involves scratching or scraping paint to reveal layers below? Is it A, glazing? Is it B, sgraffito or is it C, dry brushing? And of course, the answer is B, sgraffito.

Artists can use different layering techniques to create depth and richness.

Layering allows for corrections by building up paint in distinct stages.

Here are some techniques that you can try, dry layering, glazing and scumbling.

And let's look at dry layering in a bit more detail here.

Apply a layer of paint and allow to dry completely and then apply another color on top of it.

This allows for greater control and precise detail.

And so we can see this process in the images on your screen now where the first layer is being completed and then that second layer of paint is added on top.

It creates a lot of depth.

Let's look at glazing now in a bit more detail.

So for glazing, you'd apply very thin, transparent layers of color over dry paint to create luminosity and depth.

And this allows the underlying colors to show through, and we can see this effect beautifully in this example here.

Which of these images on the screen shows glazing? And how do you know? The answer is B.

And you should know because the thin layers of paint underneath are showing through.

Blending involves mixing colors on the canvas to create smooth gradients and soft edges.

Here are some techniques you can try.

Wet on wet, wet on dry and sponging.

I have a true or false question now to check your understanding.

Blending is mixing color on the canvas to create smooth gradients and soft edges using techniques like wet on wet, wet on dry or sponging.

Or is this true or false? And the answer is true.

These methods help to achieve smooth transitions and subtle shifts in tone.

We're now about to embark on our first task of the lesson, which is task A.

What I would like to do in task A is to create a sampler sheet with four to five blending and layering techniques, including sgraffito, which is a subtractive method such as wiping or scratching back.

I would like you to experiment with tools so you can try brushes, sponges, or even your fingers.

I'd like you to label each section with the technique used and make a short note about the effect that it has created.

Okay, so off you go to complete your task.

I'll be here when you get back and we'll check in together later, and we'll see how you got on.

Here's an example of what we may have achieved in the task today.

You should have created a sampler sheet featuring different blending and layering techniques.

And here is an example, and what you would've also created is some notes and written detail about the sort of effects that have been created and how we have completed each individual technique.

We're now going to move on to the second learning cycle of our lesson today, which is called Creating Depth and Richness.

Why might an artist start with a loose monochrome underpainting like this instead of jumping straight into more color and detail like this? Underpainting is a way to map out the composition by blocking in the main shapes in the painting, using monochrome washes of paint that have been thinned.

Which paintings could be an example of underpainting and how do you know? And the answers are B and C.

And the reason you would know this is that they have both used monochrome color washers to create the underpainting.

Midtone layering develops the underpainting step by step, adding layers of paint.

Artists start with a middle or midtone color as a base, and then they progressively add darker and lighter colors on top to build form, depth, and volume.

If you look very carefully, you can see that in this example here on the screen, the artist adds subtle layers of paint adding lighter and darker colors to build depth and richness in the painting.

And does the artist builds up these layers? More detail is being captured.

In turn, the areas of highlights on the branches and the shadows on the floor and on the underside of the branches become more rich, giving greater depth and form to the painting.

When using translucent mediums like watercolor or thin oil glazes, the layers underneath remain visible.

This lets the artist build up colors and to create unique visual effects, just like in this image here where you can see these beautiful visual effects with these intricate and interesting choices of color.

And if you carefully observe this painting, you can actually see that there are thin glazes of watercolor that is built up, and you can see that by these subtle differences in color that show through.

And what this does is it builds that interest and that richness in the painting.

When using translucent mediums like watercolor or thin oil glazes, the layers beneath stay visible, allowing the artist to build color and effects.

Is that statement true or is that statement false? That is true; translucency lets underlying layers show through helping the artist to create depth, richness and subtle visual effects.

For your second task today, task B, what I'd like you to do is to choose a reference image.

You could choose a landscape or a still life.

Step one, I would like you to create an underpainting in minimal colors.

So for instance, you could use burnt umber or blue, and this is to map out shapes and values.

Step two, you would then need to add midtone layers to build depth.

And step three, blend highlights and shadows to bring form and atmosphere to your painting.

Okay, good luck with this task.

So you're gonna need to gather up your resources and materials and collect a reference image of your landscape or still life.

And I wish you good look, and I'll see you back here when you've completed the task.

Here's an example of what we might have created in task B today.

In our lesson today of layering and blending and creating depth and richness in painting, we looked at layering and blending techniques such as wet and wet, dry brush, glazing, scumbling, and sgraffito techniques to create depth.

We explored multiple ways of blending, which helped to achieve varied effects.

And you had a go at creating some images related to creating these effects.

We also discussed, and you had a go at layering, which adds tonal variation and helps to create mood or a sense of space.

We looked at blending and layering choices that affect how the artwork feels and the response it creates.

And in task B, today, you would've had a go at creating your painting using these layering and blending techniques.

I hope it went well for you today, and I hope you've learned lots of new techniques to create that depth and richness in your painting.

And I hope you continue to develop and progress in your painting skills lesson by lesson.

I wish you luck.

Thank you.

Goodbye.