Lukisan berjudul "Alam pedesaan" ini dibuat di bulan Februari 2016 dengan media cat acrylic di atas canvas berukuran 40x50cm. Saya gunakan cat acrylic Liquitex Basic dipadu dengan Louvre. Untuk painting medium-nya menggunakan amsterdam acrylic medium glossy dan selanjutnya finishing touch menggunakan amsterdam acrylic varnish glossy.
Lukisan ini bercerita tentang suasana alam pedesaan dengan rindang dan hijaunya pepohonan, rumah sederhana yang masih berdinding gedek (anyaman bambu), jalan setapak yang belum beraspal serta aliran sungai kecil di sisi jalan. Untuk memberikan kesan desa tak berpenduduk maka saya tambahkan seorang lelaki yang sedang memikul rerumputan.
Karakter dari cat acrylic adalah cepat kering dan setelah kering bersifat tahan air. Jadi perlu diperhatikan efektivitas waktu saat melukis, agar dapat membuat efek-efek lukisan terkesan hidup. Jika kita bisa menggunakan teknik wet-on-wet pada cat minyak, tidak demikian halnya saat kita menggunakan cat acrylic. Penggunaan acrylic retarder (semacam medium untuk memperlambat durasi pengeringan cat acrylic) juga tidak terlalu banyak membantu.
Langkah awal dimulai dari melukis langit, dengan menggunakan paduan warna titanium white, cobalt blue, yellow ochre dan sedikit sentuhan alizarin crimson. Selanjutnya melukis awan yang terdiri dari beberapa bagian. Bagian yang gelap menggunakan paduan warna titanium white, cerulean blue, yellow ochre dan sedikit sentuhan alizarin crimson. Bagian midstone menggunakan paduan warna cerulean blue, titanium white, cadmium yellow deep dan sentuhan alizarin crimson. Bagian pantulan sinar menggunakan paduan warna titanium white, cadmium yellow deep dan sentuhan alizarin crimson. Dan terakhir, bagian awan yang terang menggunakan paduan warna titanium white dan sedikit sentuhan cadmium yellow deep.
Langkah berikutnya yaitu melukis background pepohonan di kejauhan, yang menggunakan paduan warna titanium white, cobalt blue, yellow ochre, sedikit alizarin crimson dan sap green. Hasil paduan warna-warna ini berupa warna hijau kebiruan yang memberikan kesan jauh. Untuk menggambar batang dan cabang pohon, cukup dengan menggoreskan ujung palette knife pada lukisan background pohon dengan catatan saat cat acrylic masih basah.
Langkah berikutnya yaitu melukis rerumputan serta pepohonan. Bagian daun yang gelap menggunakan paduan warna sap green, raw umber dan sedikit alizarin crimson. Bagian midstone menggunakan paduan warna sap green, naples yellow, crimson dan titanium white. Terakhir bagian daun yang terang dengan paduan sap green dan sedikit sentuhan cadmium yellow light. Paduan warna ini juga digunakan untuk melukis rerumputan dan perdu di sisi dekat serta daun pohon kelapa.
Jalan setapak dilukis dengan paduan raw umber, raw sienna dan burnt sienna. Setelah itu disapu dengan paduan raw sienna dan yellow ochre. Perhatikan arah sapuan kuas agar jalan setapak terlihat terbuat dari tanah.
Rumah dilukis dengan paduan warna raw umber dan raw sienna dan sentuhan cadmium yellow light dan yellow ochre untuk menggambarkan bahwa dinding rumah terbuat dari anyaman bambu.
Untuk melukis air sungai, saya gunakan paduan warna titanium white, oxide black dan sedikit raw umber. Ini untuk memberikan kesan aliran air yang jernih dan bayang-bayang yang tampak di permukaan air tersebut.
Finishing touch dengan menggunakan varnish hanya dapat dilakukan jika lukisan cat acrylic sudah benar-benar kering, paling tidak sekitar 5-6 hari. Saat melapisi lukisan dengan varnish, perhatikan hal berikut:
- Gunakan kuas berukuran besar (2" ataupun 4")
- Pastikan lukisan benar-benar sudah kering dan bersih sebelum dilapisi varnish.
- Kuas harus disapukan searah.
- Pastikan seluruh area lukisan sudah di-varnish secara merata.
Painting entitled "countryside" was created in February 2016 with a media acrylic paint onto the canvas of 40x50cm. I used acrylic paints of Liquitex Basic combined with Louvre. For additional painting medium, I used Amsterdam acrylic medium glossy and subsequent finishing touch using Acrylic amsterdam varnish glossy.
This painting tells the story of village atmosphere with lush and green trees, modest homes that are still made from woven bamboo, road which has not been paved and small streams in a side street. To give an impression of the village was inhabited then I add a man who was carrying grass.
Characters of acrylic paint is fast drying and water-resistant when dry. So keep in mind the effectiveness of the current time to paint, in order to make the effects of painting seem alive. If we can use the technique of wet-on-wet in oil paint, not the case when we use acrylic paint. The use of acrylic retarder (a kind of medium for the duration of the slow drying acrylic paint) is not helped too much.
The initial steps starting from painting the sky, using a blend of colors titanium white, cobalt blue, yellow ochre and a touch of alizarin crimson. Furthermore paint cloud that consists of several parts. The dark portion using a blend of colors titanium white, Cerulean Blue, yellow ochre and a touch of alizarin crimson. Midstone part of clouds using color mixing of Cerulean Blue color , titanium white, cadmium yellow deep and a touch of of alizarin crimson. Part of cloud which reflected light using a blend of colors titanium white, cadmium yellow deep and a touch of alizarin crimson. And lastly, part of a bright cloud using a blend of colors titanium white and a touch of cadmium yellow deep.
The next step is to paint the background of trees in the distance, which uses a blend of colors titanium white, cobalt blue, yellow ochre, a little alizarin crimson and sap green. The results of these colors blend in the form of a bluish green color which gives the impression away. To draw the trunks and branches of trees, simply by scraping the tip of the palette knife painting tree background when acrylic paint is still wet.
The next step is to paint the grass and trees. The dark part of leaves used a blend of colors sap green, raw umber and a little alizarin crimson. Midstone part of leaves using sap green color blend, naples yellow, crimson and white titanium. Recently the bright part of leaves with a blend of sap green and a little touch of cadmium yellow light. This color combination is also used to paint the grass and shrubs on the near side and palm tree leaves.
The walkways are painted with blend of colors of raw umber, raw sienna and burnt sienna. After it was washed away with a blend of raw sienna and yellow ochre. Note the direction of the brush strokes that made the footpath visible from the ground.
The house is painted with a blend of raw umber and raw sienna and cadmium yellow light and a touch of yellow ochre to illustrate that the walls are made of woven bamboo.
To paint the stream, I used a blend of colors titanium white, oxide black and a little raw umber. This is to give the impression of the flow of clear water and the shadows that appear on the surface of the water.
Finishing touch by using the varnish can only be done if painting acrylic paint is completely dry, at least about 5-6 days. When painting with a varnish coat, note the following:
- Use a brush-sized (2 "or 4")
- Make sure the painting completely dry and clean before coating varnish.
- Brush must be stroked in the same direction.
- Make sure all areas of the painting has been in-varnish evenly.