Beech Tree Forest

"Beech Tree Forest"
May 20, 2025
Oil on canvas
100x50cm

So... this was quite the project.
I made the frame myself using stretcher bars from an artstore, stretched artist cotton on it and primed it several times with slightly brownish coloured transparant gesso.
Several times as in: two layers of "buttermilk" thickness to let the cotton soak up the gesso, then 2 layers of "yoghurt" thickness.

Then I took purple and red acrylic and painted the underpainting, like a sketch.
Then another layer of transparant gesso because it did not feel like there was enough on it for wet-on-wet painting sessions.

And then I painted over it with oils.
The contrasting purples of the underpainting made me decide to keep, and add, purple to the shadows on the ground and the foreground tree.
Took me three days to finish it with oils.

I always used contrasting background colours when making acrylic paintings, but it is the first time I used it for an oil painting and I'll use it again for sure! I like the subtle contrast it creates.

The scene is based on a photograph I took in nearby woods.

The added images show the progress, starting with the purple underpainting.