Light on the Path: 15 Minute Painting Demonstration
The painting I’m bringing you today, Light on the Path. It’s a 5×7, was painted last week, and I’m really happy to show it to you today.
New Website
I want to mention my new website: mfrancismccarthy.art. It’s my hub—where things are consolidating. If you’re watching this on YouTube, the full live session with detailed color mixing will be available on my new site at lower resolution. Alos it’s in the Members are here right now. YouTube Members are supporting this channel and getting 4K access with no ads.
I’m building away on the new site daily, it’s the place on the interwebs for anything Michael Francis McCarthy related
The Underpainting & Mars Black Decision
For this one, we mixed burnt umber with Mars Black—a lot of Mars Black. I used to work with ivory black for underpaintings, but I discovered a real problem: it would delaminate when I came back to it later. The oils in fresh paint interact with that early ivory black layer in ways I didn’t want. Ivory black is notoriously slow to dry, especially when weakened with oil.
By shifting to Mars Black for underpaintings, I got much better adhesion and stability. Better results when I come back days or weeks later. That matters.
The medium I’m using throughout this painting is Archival Oils Brand Odorless Lean—an alkyd oil that dries faster than traditional linseed. That matters for layering.
The Sky & Reference Management
The original reference photo for this scene was completely blown out in the sky. Washed out. So I had to bring in something else entirely. This is important: always support yourself with reference material, but understand that every reference comes with problems.
Making really nice paintings isn’t easy. But it’s considerably easier if you work from references that inspire you rather than ones loaded with problems you’ll have to solve as you’re painting. Every reference has issues—even the best ones. This scene had complexity. The main thing I look out for with these kinds of scenes is the intervals between the vertical trees. If they’re too uniform, the painting dies. It looks artificial.
In this painting, I wanted those two trees on the right to have life in them. I didn’t want them 100% black. A little gray, a little variation. That small decision changes everything.
The Foliage-Over-Sky Challenge
One of the most consistently challenging things with this type of scene is where the foliage comes in over the sky. I’ve been working this way for a long time now, and I get consistently better results with my current approach: leave things loose early on and wait until you’re actually putting in the sky to really define the edges.
This requires patience. You have to trust the process. But the payoff is worth it.
Color Logic & Modulation in Greens
Here’s where we get into the greens. The obvious logic applies: darkest darks (mostly black), then dark green, medium green, light green. That progression is correct and necessary.
But here’s the refinement: intersperse reds through those steps.
You might do dark green, then come in with a red that’s not as dark, then medium greens—maybe dotted or dabbed into those red areas. Why? Because if you look outside—seriously, look out your window—nature is green on green on green. Yes, there’s a ton of other colors in there, but you have to play that up.
If you just do green on green on green, your painting becomes monotonous. One of my main challenges with landscape painting is finding ways to modulate the colors. If you haven’t watched the Easel Talk on modulation, do it. That video is packed with tips.
Modulation is one of the easiest things you can add to your skillset. It’s low-hanging fruit. Once you remember to do it all the time, your work improves dramatically. Draftsmanship is great. Getting details right is great. Composition is way more important. But modulation—modulation is easy and it transforms your work.
The Critical Light Rule
Here’s a tip I’ve learned through hard experience, and it’s worth writing down.
Never have any highlight on your trees lighter than your sky.
I don’t care what the photo says. Don’t do it. It doesn’t work. I know this from experience, so make note of that. It’s an excellent tip—worth paying attention to.
Wrapping Up & The Approach to Finishing
As you can see, we’re bringing interest into the grass areas, varying the tones and the colors. Something like this could be completely overwhelming if you slip into draftsperson mode. But as a painter, you have latitude to express yourself, put down shapes and colors. Once your initial composition is set—which happens in the underpainting stage—take advantage of that security. Make things interesting and expressive.
Don’t spend too long working on a painting. The longer you sweat it, the tighter it becomes. You need grace in your approach. This is why I stress painting constantly. It becomes reflexive. Experience is what feeds your intuition. It’s what supports you when you encounter subjects you’ve never painted before.
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