{"id":445,"date":"2026-08-15T00:22:58","date_gmt":"2026-08-15T00:22:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mfrancismccarthy.art\/?p=445"},"modified":"2026-08-15T00:25:35","modified_gmt":"2026-08-15T00:25:35","slug":"the-quite-passage-6x8-live-painting-session","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mfrancismccarthy.art\/?p=445","title":{"rendered":"The Quite Passage 6×8 \u2013 Live Painting Session!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\nhttps:\/\/youtu.be\/3hyVQv2wQ0Q\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Transcript and Key Insights<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019re going to make a painting today. I\u2019ve got my colors pre-mixed, and we\u2019re starting fresh with the drawing because the camera wasn\u2019t focused on the first attempt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Reference and Setup<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

This reference comes from a folder I keep of forest scenes, it\u2019s clearly my favorite type of scene. It\u2019s mostly sky at the top, which is interesting because most of that sky will actually be covered with foliage. The real subject here is the light coming through the trees, not the sky itself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m working on a 6×8 board. Originally I composited this as a 3.5×5, but it came out looking good enough that I decided to open it up. Six by eight gives me room to do some cooler things. Not that you can\u2019t work with a 3.5×5, but it\u2019s definitely harder.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
The Quite Passage 6×8<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Key Insight: Sky Isn\u2019t Always Sky<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s something I\u2019ve been working through: when you\u2019re looking at a forest scene like this, the sky might be unencumbered at the top, but the majority of it will be interrupted by foliage. Even where you see sky, you can swap some of that out for sunlight hitting the trees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This means you don\u2019t need to commit to a traditional sky treatment. You can use dashes of color, break things up. It doesn\u2019t have to be with foliage color, it can be with a darker version of the sky itself. You want to say you can do some dishes and dashes and things like that, break things up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s been a very helpful insight for me as a painter. I\u2019m still working on it, but it changes how you approach these forest scenes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Color Mixing Strategy: The Greens Problem<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The greens in the reference are quite dominant. I\u2019ve developed a technique for moving and modifying very green references. If you\u2019re using Photoshop or Affinity, use the color balance tool. It has three settings: midtones, highlights, and shadows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Push the shadows bluer. Push the midtones redder. Push the highlights more yellow. That\u2019s a good way to move the painting out of being purely green and opens things up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the actual mixing on the palette, I\u2019m starting with Mars Black and adding Perylene to create a cool dark green. Now I know how cool Perylene is, so this is going to be overall a warm painting, and I still need more adulteration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m going to bring in some of my mixing red, that\u2019s Winton. It\u2019s subtle and it\u2019s muddying it a bit, but that muddiness is going to be a desirable trait. It gives the green complexity and warmth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s the big technique: use the alternating green and red trick<\/strong>. Don\u2019t just lay down greens. Alternate with reds. I want to have the ability to break things up and move things around. This is a big secret to dealing with your greens. Alternate. Alternate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For lighter greens, I\u2019m bringing in Mars Yellow. That\u2019s an actual green tone. I need to bring in some warmth. This whole painting is warm, so even my greens have warmth built into them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I also use Indian Yellow sometimes, very strong color, not usually on my palette. But it\u2019s good to not have infinite colors on your palette. The extra warmth it\u2019s giving us is valuable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Painting the Sky and Light<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The thing that makes a whole painting work is where I get some color in there and the light from the sky. I\u2019m not even going to mess with blue in the sky. This is going to be sunlight and not sky.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m starting with a light gray made from black and white, but I don\u2019t want it too dark. I\u2019m bringing in some Burnt Umber and a little more cleanness with Yellow Ochre. That gives me a yellowy, bluey, sky-type tone. It could go brighter, but I\u2019m holding back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even up here in the sky area, I\u2019ll probably swap some of that out for sunlight. It\u2019s very subtle. You can do some dishes and dashes and things like that, break things up. It doesn\u2019t have to be with a foliage color.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Path and Light Structure<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The brightest parts, the sunlight hitting the path, should never be brighter than your sky. That\u2019s a hard rule. Nothing should be brighter than the sky itself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The path is mostly orange, sunlight yellow. I\u2019m keeping it stepping down in value. If at any point the path becomes brighter or more intense than the sky, I\u2019ll take the sky a notch brighter to maintain that relationship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The dark areas in the reference aren\u2019t that strong, so I\u2019m keeping them restrained. Normally I\u2019d be dark in the corners. That\u2019s my default. But here, I\u2019m not defaulting to that. The light structure is more important than heavy shadows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Common Mistakes to Avoid<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Don\u2019t let your greens take over the painting.<\/strong> If you only use greens, even well-mixed ones, the painting becomes one-note. Use the alternating red and green technique to pulse interest through the composition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Don\u2019t make things brighter than the sky.<\/strong> It breaks the logic of light in the scene. You need a hierarchy of brightness, and the sky or sunlit sky areas set that ceiling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Don\u2019t treat the sky as a flat shape.<\/strong> You can break it up, interrupt it, add warmth and color variation. It doesn\u2019t have to be uniform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Working Process<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m not overthinking this as I paint. I\u2019m letting the painting tell me what it needs. I started with the sky, moved to the path, and now I\u2019m bringing in the greens and reds that hold everything together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The board color, a little more golden than usual, is supporting the warmth I want. I\u2019m enjoying painting on this surface. It\u2019s different from my typical board color, and the extra warmth is helping.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m using a Silver Grand Prix filbert, size 1. For the highlights and lighter passages, I\u2019m careful not to make them more intense than the sky. The brush choice matters because I need control and the ability to shift between broader strokes and more delicate work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why This Matters<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

What we\u2019re doing here is real. It\u2019s one-of-a-kind, non-repeatable. My hand, my consciousness inhabiting a body in real time, on a real board. That\u2019s intrinsically valuable because it\u2019s an expression of the universe in the present moment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The techniques matter because they serve that expression. Modulation, alternating colors, restraint with brightness, these aren\u2019t rules for their own sake. They\u2019re tools that let the light and feeling come through.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I come up in a world where artists like George Inness changed things. Those coming along after, watching these videos, will be standing on my shoulders. That\u2019s how it works. You\u2019re not claiming to be better. You\u2019re standing on the shoulders of giants and doing your own thing from there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Take good care of yourself. Stay out of trouble. And fight the power.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mike’s New Site<\/a> | Substack<\/a> | Painting Website<\/a> | Mailing List<\/a> | Store<\/a> | My Music<\/a> | Support<\/a> | Members Area<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

M Francis McCarthy, Your Painter in Residence<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Transcript and Key Insights We\u2019re going to make a painting today. I\u2019ve got my colors pre-mixed, and we\u2019re starting fresh with the drawing because the camera wasn\u2019t focused on the first attempt. The Reference and Setup This reference comes from a folder I...<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":450,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-445","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-painting","rsfv-has-video"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mfrancismccarthy.art\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/445","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mfrancismccarthy.art\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mfrancismccarthy.art\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mfrancismccarthy.art\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mfrancismccarthy.art\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=445"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/mfrancismccarthy.art\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/445\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":447,"href":"https:\/\/mfrancismccarthy.art\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/445\/revisions\/447"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mfrancismccarthy.art\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/450"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mfrancismccarthy.art\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=445"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mfrancismccarthy.art\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=445"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mfrancismccarthy.art\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=445"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}